f ^ 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT 
ST. ELIAS 




'OP oi-' S Kt.ias seen frotvi tkk Eas': 



THE ASCENT OF 

MOUNT ST ELIAS 

\ 

[ALASKA] 

BY H.R.H. PRINCE LUIGI AMEDEO 

Dl SAVOIA DUKE OF THE ABRUZZI 

NARRATED BY FILIPPO DE FILIPPI 

•il 

ILLUSTRATED BY VITTORIO SELLA 

\ AND TRANSLATED BY SIGNORA 

I 

! LINDA VILLARI WITH 

THE AUTHOR'S 

SUPERVISION 



* ' ) J ) , 



NEW YORK 
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



<^ 



THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS VOLUME 

ARE ENTIRELY SUPPLIED BY H.R.H. 

THE DUKE OF THE ABRUZZI 

VITTORIO SELLA AND 

F. GONELLA 



THE THANKS OF THE AUTHOR ARE DIE TO PROFESSOR 
LANKESTER AND PROFESSOR JUDD FOR REVISING, FOR THIS 
EDITION, THE APPENDICES DEALING WITH ZOOLOGY AND 
GEOLOGY 



Printed in Eiii;lar.d 



Preface 




IN the acute and subtle criticism 
of modern Alpinism with 
which Mr. Mummery concludes 
the narrative of his own expedi- 
tions, he says that " the true 
Alpinist is the man who attempts 
new ascents." ' This opinion is 
undoubtedly shared by those 
climbers who turn eagerly to the 
few Alpine peaks forgotten or 
neglected by earlier explorers, 
and are conquering them in such 
rapid succession that soon no 
virgin summit will be left in that range. 

But, in fact, the conquest of the Alps was virtually accomplished 
many years ago. The giant peaks were already won, and ambitious 
climbers, including several of those who had taken part in the great 
battle, then left home to seek new perils and fresh victories farther 
afield. Thus began a series of Alpine expeditions to remote and 
inhospitable regions, little known or totally unexplored — regions 
where technical experience of mountain work had to be supple- 
mented by a wide and varied knowledge and power of resource 
in order to successfully cope with the obstacles and dangers of 
exploration. 

Accordingly, the great mountain explorations of recent times 

1 Vide A.. F. Mummery: My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus. London: 1895. 
Page 327. 

V 



PREFACE 

have been evolved from traditional mountaineering, and, more 
directly, from the conquest of the Alps. To this day the Alps 
remain the best teachers of the art. Theirs is the only school 
where it may be learnt and practised. The experience gained there 
has made it possible to establish in every detail a technique of 
climbing, and the comprehensive knowledge thus acquired of diffi- 
culties and dangers, and of the best means of overcoming them, has 
emboldened the Alpinist to attempt the conquest of the mightiest 
ranges of the world. 

H.R. H. the Duke of the Abruzzi has joined the ranks of this 
small band of explorers, by making the expedition described in 
the present work. 

The region dominated by Mount St. Elias offers such marked 
characteristics and unusual conditions of life and activity, that 
a thorough knowledge of these is required in order to grasp 
the real nature of the expedition. If the winning of St. Elias only 
meant the ascent of the terminal cone, made in one day from the 
Russell Col, it might be compared with many of the easier climbs in 
our own Alps. The reply given by one of our guides on his return 
exactly defines it : — " Just like the Breithorn, only much higher." 
Nor, strictly considered, would the altitude of the mountain 
(18,000 feet) render its ascent an exceptional undertaking, seeing 
that summits ranging to over 23,000 feet above the sea have 
already been conquered. But, when we take into account the entire 
route traversed by the expedition from the landing-place on the 
west coast of Yakutat Bay to the top of the peak, the true nature 
of the enterprise becomes apparent. The exceptional difficulty 
consists precisely in having to cross a zone of ice and snow of far 
greater extent than any to be found in other mountain groups. The 
Alaskan coast ranges are in the identical condition that prevailed in 
the Alps during the ice age ; their glaciers descend to the sea, while 
their snow-line is as low as 2,500 feet above the sea level. Hence, 
the ascent of St. Elias differs fundamentally from any of the great 
climbs on record. 

vi 



PREFACE 



Mr. J. C. Russell, who was the chief explorer of the region 
traversed by H.R. H.'s caravan, has published some interesting 
remarks on the nature of the work/ He maintains that an ap- 
proximate idea may be formed of the obstacles to be overcome 
in various ascents by comparing the height and distance of the 
summit beyond the farthest point where fuel can be found. 

Now, since the limit of vegetation descends as we approach the 
poles, the proportionate difficulty of a given ascent might be calcu- 
lated according to the latitude of the mountain, with due regard, 
of course, to its height. Con- 
sidering some of the highest peaks 
of the American Continent from 
this point of view, Mr. Russell ob- 
serves that on Chimborazo, in the 
Equatorial Andes, the last fire is 
lighted about 14,000 feet above the 
sea, and only 5,900 feet have to be 
climbed to reach the summit (19,500 
feet). The great volcanoes of Mexico 
rise to an altitude of about 1 7,000 
feet above the sea ; while the limit 
of forest vegetation is over 13,000 
feet. On Mount Whitney (14,000 
feet), the highest peak of the Sierra 
Nevada, trees are found up to the level of nearly 1 1,000 feet. The 
snow zone in all these instances is about 5,000 feet in height, and 
can be climbed either in one day, or two or three at the most. 
Therefore, there is no need to carry up fuel, cooking-stoves, or 
specially prepared provisions ; the requisite supply of blankets and 
warm clothes is greatly reduced, and the expedition can easily 
replenish its stores. 

In Alaska the conditions are entirely different. The snow-line, 

1 J. S. C. Russell: Mountaineering in Alaska. Bulletins of the American 
Geographical Society. Vol. XXVIII., No. 3, page 17 ; 1896. 

vii 




LIEIT. UMBERTO CAGNI, R.I.N. 



PREFACE 



instead of rising, as in tlie tropics, to i8,ooo feet, drops, near Mount 
Logan and St. Elias, to less than 3,000 feet above the sea-level. 
Nearly 14,000 feet must be climbed above the snow-line to reach the 
summit ; and it must be also remembered that those peaks are 
at a distance of 50 to 60 miles from the forest. 

Thus the narrative of an expedition to Mount St. Elias has 
to chronicle whole weeks spent on vast glaciers, traversing more 
than 100 miles of ice and snow, conveying either on sledges or 
men's backs such heavy and complicated baggage as tents, blankets, 

fuel, provisions, oil and spirit stoves, 
clothing, and instruments. All this, 
too, in a region where bad weather 
is almost perpetual. On the lower 
glaciers the chilly rain seldom ceases, 
while, higher up, the heavy snowfall 
is so frequently renewed that it has 
no time to harden, and makes walk- 
ing difficult and extremely laborious. 
Owing to these exceptional 
conditions, I have considered it 
necessary to give full details of our 
preparations and equipment and 
have devoted a special appendix 
to it. I have also dealt minutely, 
and perhaps tediously, with the particulars of our daily life on the 
ice. This part of our journey was a monotonous march, without 
stirrino- or interesting episodes, through dense fogs and intermin- 
able snow-storms. We had hours, too, of intense enjoyment on 
the rare days of fine weather, when this strange region was re- 
vealed to our sight in all its vast grandeur. The whole was so 
utterly unlike the familiar scenery of our Alps, that I fear I shall 
have failed to give the reader even an approximate conception 
of what we beheld. Fortunately, Signor Sella's illustrations will 
indicate far better than my inadequate words the rich and diver- 

viii 




FRANCESCO GONELI.A. 



PREFACE 

sified outlines of the scene, though even they cannot attempt to 
render the marvellous effects of light and colour. 

His Royal Highness's expedition was exclusively Alpinistic. 
Its sole object was to reach the summit of Mount St. Elias, and 
all else was naturally subordinated to that aim. We were com- 
pelled to give up everything that might have hindered our march, 
while, to avoid increasing the already considerable weight of in- 
dispensable stores, all superfluities were left behind. The mountain- 
eering season in Alaska lasts little more than two months. In 
September snow-storms continue al- 
most without cease, and climbing 
becomes impossible. Our expedition 
took fifty-seven days from the coast 
to the summit and back again, with- 
out wasting one day or even one 
hour. Hence no topographical sur- 
vey nor other scientific investigation 
could be made. Only an uninter- 
rupted series of meteorological ob- 
servations was taken. These are 
given in one of the appendices ; 
while others contain details of the 
few zoological specimens collected on 
the snow surface of the Malaspina 
Glacier and of the minerals of the region. 

H.R.H.'s expedition has proved the truth ot a prediction 
made in 1887 by an Englishman, Lieut. H. W. Seton-Karr, R.N. 
This officer was one of the earliest explorers of the Mount 
St. Elias region, and in giving a report of his travels to the Royal 
Geographical Society, he stated that " if the mountain was to be 
ascended at all, it would only be accomplished by experienced 
Alpinists."^ In the course of the ensuing discussion Mr. Freshfield 

1 Lieut. H. W. .Seton-Karr : The Alpine Regions of Alaska. Proceedings of the 
Royal Geographical Society, May, 1887. 




VITTORIO SELLA. 



IX 



PREFACE 

insisted that the art of climbing above the level of perpetual snow 
was as well established as that of navigation, and that no one 
inexperienced in it could any more successfully attack snow moun- 
tains than a landsman could navigate the sea/ In fact, there is 
a technique of mountaineering that has to be specially acquired. 

No one who has seen sfuides at work on hig^h mountains can 
doubt the truth of this dictum ; but it is often denied by those who 
are ignorant of the subject. In many quarters it was a matter of 
great surprise that H.R. H. should take the trouble to export 
Italian guides to so distant a country, and it was asked of what 
possible use they could be among mountains unknown to them. 
Mr. Russell himself, who is not an Alpinist, although he has spent 
several months among the glaciers of Mount St. Elias, once stated 
that Alpine guides would be totally useless there;- and his fellow- 
explorer, Mr. M. B. Kerr, has repeated the assertion.'' 

In reality the same technique needed upon the glaciers of the 
Alps is equally adequate for other mountains, all being subject to 
the same physical laws, and sharing the same essential characteristics. 
Even upon Alpine glaciers there are no permanent tracks ; in many 
instances a fresh route has to be found every year — and may 
be changed, perhaps, several times in a single season, owing to 
varied conditions. The best evidence in favour of guides is the 
remarkable exploring work that has been already accomplished 
with their help. Scarcely a single important mountain expedition 
in any part of the world has been performed without their skilled 
assistance. They were with Messrs. D. Freshfield, Craufurd Grove, 
M. de Decky, Clinton Dent, W. F. Donkin, A. F. Mummery, J. C. 
Cockin, V. and E. Sella, and many other Alpinists in the Caucasus ; 
they were in the Equatorial Andes with E. Whymper, in the 

> J- y^f also D. W. Freshfield : The Exploration of tlte Caucasus. London, 1896. 

Vol. I. p. 4- 

■' J. C. Russell : An Expedition to Mount St. Elias, Alaska. In the lYational 
Geographic Magazine, Vol. V., 3rd May, 1891, p. 166. 

3 M. B. Kerr: Mount St. Elias and its Giaciers. Scribner's Out-of-Door 
Library, "Mountain Climbing," p. 297 (New York, 1897). 

X 



PREFACE 



Himalayas with W. W. Graham, W. M. Conway and others; with 
E. A. Fitzgerald in New Zealand and the Chilian Andes, and 
with W. M. Conway in Spitzbergen and Bolivia. 

The idea occurred to H.R. H. of marking his appreciation of 
the guides' services on this Alaskan expedition by founding a 
permanent institution for their benefit. 

The Avhole profit on the sale of the Italian edition of this 
work, together with all royalties and rights on foreign editions, 
will be dedicated to an Insurance Fund for Italian Guides. 
Their lives are exposed to con- 
tinual hardship and risk, requiring 
great self-denial and the clearest 
sense of personal responsibility ; 
while their families are in constant 
danger of losing their bread-winners 
by unforeseen accidents. They may 
now count in all such contingen- 
cies upon receiving prompt and 
effective help. Thus, thanks to 
H.R. H.'s Fund, the terrible con- 
sequences of Alpine disaster will be, 
in some measure, alleviated. 

I am charged with the grateful 
task of offering the thanks of His 
Royal Highness and his expedition to all who promoted the suc- 
cess of the enterprise by their kind help and advice ; and I trust 
I may be forgiven should I have inadvertently omitted any of 
their names from the following pages. A special debt of gratitude 
is due to Professor J. C. Russell for the permission to reproduce 
in this book his own sketch-map of the Mount St. Elias region. 

I would also record our warm thanks to Professor C. Emery 
and his colleagues. Dr. G. Kiechbaumer and Professor P. Pavesi, 
and to Signor V. Novarese, who kindly examined our specimens 
and drew up the reports appended to the present volume. 

xi 




ULirro iiE Fiiirri. 



PREFACE 

When H.R.H. the Duke of the Abruzzi did me the honour 
of asking me to record the expedition, I was encouraged to 
undertake the task by the certainty of being able to depend upon 
the assistance of His Royal Highness and of my fellow-travellers. 
The narrative may be said to comprise the experiences of the 
whole party. My task has consisted in arranging and collating 
the diaries kept by H.R.H. and my colleagues, together with" 
my own journal. These consist of notes and impressions scrib- 
bled at odd moments during the expedition, and it has been 
my aim to preserve as far as possible all the freshness and 
stamp of actuality infused into them by the circumstances under 
which they were written. 

During the course of the work, H.R.H. and my companions 
have continually given me valuable advice and help, without 
which — my own mountaineering experience being less advanced 
— I should have lacked many of the elements required for the 
right understanding and interpretation of much that we had seen 
and done. 

FILIPPO DE FILIPPI. 

March, 1899 



xn 



CONTENTS 

CHAl'lKK PAGE 

I. FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE I 

II. FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU — THE ALEXANDER ARCHI- 
PELAGO AND ALASKA 15 

III. FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT-THE MUIR C.LACIER, SITK.A, 

AND THE COAST RANGE 30 

IV. THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 45 

V. THE MALASPINA GLACIER 64 

VI. SEWARD GL.ACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER . 94 

VII. NEWTON GLACIER 124 

VIII. THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 146 

IX. RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT . . .162 

X. BACK TO EUROPE— FROM YAKUTAT TO LONDON . . .177 

APPENDICES 1S5 




li.R.ii. Prince Luigi Amedeo di Savoia 



LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES 



TO FACE 
PAGE ; 

Tlie Top of St. Elias, seen from the East 

Frontispiece 

S.A.R. il Principe Luigi Ametleo cli Snvoia xiv 
An Evening in Alaskan Waters .... 20 •■ 
La Perouse, Crillon and Fairweatlier, from 

Glacier Bay 28.^ 

The Muir Glacier 36 , 

Sitka 44 / 

Yakutat 52 r 

The Osar Stream approaching the Sea . . 60 "^ 
On the Moraine of the Malaspina Glacier . 84 '' 
St. Elias from Malaspina Glacier ... 92 ' 
St. Elias from the Foot of Pinnacle Gl.acier 96' 

Sunset on Seward Glacier 100 

St. Elias from Seward Glacier at Sunset . loS ' 
An Evening View of St. Elias from Se\yard 

Glacier 112 ' 

Mount Augusta seen from Seward Glacier . 1H> 

Mount Cook from Seward Glacier . . . 116 ' 

On the Agassiz Glacier 118 • 



TO FACE 
PAGE 

In Newton Valley — the Fog grows Thin . 122 

Among the Seracs of the Newton Glacier . 124 

On the Seracs of Newton Glacier. . . . 126 ■ 

Eastern .Spur of St. Elias 130 

Camp on the Newton Glacier — St. Elias — 

Russell's Col and Mount Newton . . . 132 

St. Elias from Newton Valley 140 

The Newton Valley from Russell Col . . 142 ' 

Hurrah for Italy ! 144 

On the Top of St. Elias 14S 

The Ridge of the Logan seen from St. Elias 156 ' 
Crossing the Hitchcock Glacier on the Way 

back i5o 

Coming down on the Left .Side of the Seward 

Glacier 162 

.Seward Glacier on the Way back .... 164 

On the Way back — Malaspina Glacier . . 172 

St. Elias from Vakutat Bay 1 74 

The last Evening in Alaskan Waters . . . 180 

Melanenchytraeus Solifugus 230 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Lieut. Umberto Cagni, R.I.N. . . 

Francesco Gonella 

Vittorio Sella 

Filippo de Filippi 

Captain's Bridge of the Liicauia . 
Entrance to the Harbour of New York 
New York, from the Harbour . 
Crossing the Sierra Nevada. 

Train on Ferry-Boat 

The Valley of Sacramento, California 

The Shasta Volcano 

A Californian Railway Station . . 
Ferry-Boat on Columbia River 

Seattle, from the Sea 

In Puget Sound 

Sunset in Puget Sound 

Queen Charlotte .Sound 

In the Channels of the Archipelago . 
In the Alexander Archipelago . . 

Mary Island 

Wrangel Straits 

Totem Poles at Fort Wrangel . 

Juneau 

Juneau Bay 



PAGE PAGE 

vii A Street in Juneau 27 

viii Juneau, from the Sea 28 

i.x A Church in Juneau 28 

xi The Treadwell Gold-Mines 29 

4 An Iceberg in Glacier Bay 31 

5 Glacier Bay 32 

6 An Iceberg in Glacier Bay 33 

7 Glacial Torrent in the Muir Moraine ... 34 

8 City of Topeka Steamboat in Glacier Bay . 35 

9 A Walk on the Muir Glacier 36 

10 Indians in Glacier Bay 37 

1 1 The Bay of Sitka 38 

12 Sitka, from the Sea 39 

13 Sitka 41 

18 Church at Sitka 42 

19 Mount St. Elias from Libbey Glacier . . 60 

20 West Coast of Yakutat B.ay 65 

21 West Coast of Yakutat Bay and Malaspina 

22 Moraine 66 

23 Tall Grasses on the Beach 67 

23 Camp on the West Coast of Yakutat Bay . 69 

24 Strawberries in Flower, near the First Camp 70 

25 The Osar Stream 71 

26 Osar Stream and Forest 73 



XVI 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Torrent issuing from an Ice-cave in the 

Malaspina Moraine "6 

Camp on tlie Summit of the Moraine . . 79 

At the Edge of the Malaspina Glacier . . 80 

Sledge 82 

Loaded Sledges on the Malaspina ... 82 

Whymper Tent 8j 

Mummery Tent 83 

Preparing to cross a Glacier Stream ... 87 

Crossing a Glacier Stream 88 

Encampment on the Malaspina .... So 

A Halt on the Malaspina 90 

Camp at the Base of the Hitchcock Range 92 

A Partridge on the Hitchcock Hills ... 93 

Couloir leading up to the Seward. ... 97 
The Seward Seracs — Mount Augusta and 

Mount Malaspina 98 

Camp on Hitchcock Glacier, close to the 

Seward — the Top of Mount St. .. lias seen 

through the Clouds 99 

Ice-Cascade at the Junction of Pinnacle 

with the Seward Glaciers loi 

Pinn.icle Glacier, Mount Cook 102 

North Buttress of Pinnacle Glacier . . . 103 
Mount St. Elias — Seward Glacier beneath 

Pinnacle Glacier 104 

West Face of tlic Hitchcock Chain and Left 

Flank of the Seward, from the Base of 

Pinnacle Glacier 105 

Flowering Lupins, below the Pninacle 

Cascade 106 

Flower-covered Slope of the Hitchcock 

Hills 107 

The Hitchcock Hills, from "Russell Camp" loS 

Mount Owen, from Point Glorious . . . 109 

Seward Glacier (Central Portion) . . . no 

Traversing the Seward 113 

Mount Augusta, from the Seward . . . 114 

Camp on Seward Glacier 114 

Camp on the Seward, at the Foot of Dome 

Pass : looking East 115 

Camp at the Foot of Dome Pass, on the 

Seward: looking West 116 

Dome Pass 117 

Camp on the Dome Pass 118 

On the Agassiz, after the Rain 119 

Crossing the Agassiz Glacier 120 

Ice-vault over a Lakelet on the Agassiz 

Glacier 121 

Camp at the Foot of Newton Glacier . . 122 



Terminal Cascade of Newton Glacier (show- 
ing the Route taken by our Party) . . . 125 
Eastern View, from the Second Plateau of 

Newton Glacier 126 

North Side of the Valley, from the Second 

Plateau of Newton Glacier 128 

Ea.st Buttress of Mount St. Elias .... 130 
Small Lake, among the Newton Seracs . 132 

Mount St. Elias, from the Second Cascade 

of Newton Glacier 133 

The Camp after a Snow-storm 134 

Camp on Newton Glacier, in the Fog . . 135 
Moimt Newton and the Third Cascade of 

the Glacier 136 

Mount St. Elias, and .Seracs of the Newton 137 
Mount St. Elias and the Third Cascade of 

Newton Glacier (after Sunset) .... 138 
South Wall of Newton Glacier, and the 

Savoia Glacier at its Confluence with the 

Newton 142 

Camp at the Foot of a Serac, on the Third 

Cascade of Newton Glacier 143 

Mount Newton, from the Third Cascade . 144 
Mount St. Elias, from the Third Newton 

Cascade 145 

Mount St. Elias and Russell Col, from the 

Second Platform of the Newton Glacier . 147 

Climbing Russell Col 148 

Mount Newton, from Russell Col .... 149 
N.N.E. Ridge of Mount St. Elias, from 

Russell Col 150 

The Region to the East of Mount St. Elias, 

traversed by the Expedition, viewed from 

Russell Col 151 

Mount Logan, from the .Summit of Mount 

St. Elias 157 

Crossing Agassiz Glacier, on the Way back 165 
Flowery Slope on the Hitchcock Hills . . 166 
Crossing Pinnacle Glacier on the Way down 167 
Descending a Snow-Slope at the Edge of 

the Seward 168 

Mounts Logan, Cook and Vancouver, froju 

Yakutat Bay 175 

Checking the Sledge down a Snow-Slope . 176 

Sitka and its Harbour 178 

Sitka Bay 179 

Among the Canadian Rockies iSi 

Cooking Stove ready for Transport . . . 186 
Details of Portable Cooking-Stove . . . 186 
The " Sella" Shoulder- Pack 191 



PANORAMIC VIEWS AND MAPS 



The Mountain Chain of Mounts St. 

Cook. 
The Mountain Chain of Mounts St. 

Augusta. 



Elias and ' The Region to the South and South-east of Mount 

St. Elias, seen from Russell Col. ' 
Elias and ■ The Region to the North of Mount St. Elias. 

Sketch Map of Mount St. Elias Region. 

Map of the North-west Shores of North America. 




CHAPTER I 
From Turin to Seattle 



TT w£ 



i^as the i/th May, 
and past 2 o'clock p.m. 
About a hundred persons 
were gathered on the plat- 
lorm of the Porta Nuova 
station alongside the French 
express — relatives, friends, 
and colleagues — all waiting 
to see us off and wish success to our long and difficult enterprise. 

Then His Royal Highness, the Duke of the Abruzzi arrived, 
escorted by H.R.H. the Count of Turin. A few more affectionate 
farewells, and we were off The Duke's party consisted of Lieut. 
Cavaliere Umberto Cagni, of the Royal Navy, officer-in-waiting 
to H.R.H.; Cavaliere Francesco Gonella, president of the Turin 
section of the Italian Alpine Club ; Cavaliere Vittorio Sella, and 
myself 

It was a sultry afternoon of almost midsummer heat. We 
talked little, gazed dreamily at the panorama of green fields and 
the chain of the Alps shrouded by dark storm-clouds, and silently 
reviewed the last days of feverish bustle, and the active labour 
of preparation that had filled so many months. How the time 
had flown ! 

The delight and surprise with which we had received the 
Prince's first announcement of his plans, and the honour of being 
privileged to join the expedition, still tingled through us. Only 

I B 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

six months before, H.R.H. was cruising round the world on 
the Cristoforo Colombo. But the long sea voyage had not made 
him forget the vast horizons he had seen, the war of the elements 
waged in the mountain world — the only other portion of Nature's 
realm that can rival the ocean in grandeur and force, in wild 
fury and peaceful calm. It was at Darjeeling, in Bengal, the 
30th January, 1S95, while gazing at the majestic peak of Kinchin- 
junga (28,000 feet above the sea), that an early ambition of the 
Prince took a definite shape. His voyage once accomplished, 
he determined to revisit India and attempt the ascent of some 
giant of the Himalaya range. Seven months later, Mr. A. F. 
Mummery, one of the most intrepid of contemporary Alpinists (who 
had ascended the Matterhorn with H.R.H. by the Zmutt ridge in 
1894), lost his life while attempting to scale the peak of Nanga 
Parbat, 26,000 feet above the sea, on the borders of Kashmir and 
Chitral. Affectionate regret for his unfortunate friend, and a hope 
of subduing the fatal peak, moved H.R.H. to choose the same 
mountain for attack. 

The Cristoforo Colombo anchored off Venice at the end of 
December, 1896, after a cruise of two years and two months, and 
H.R.H. immediately began to organize the expedition he had 
planned for the following summer. 

Meanwhile, however, the plague had broken out on the west 
coast of India, followed by severe famine in the Punjab, the very 
region H.R. H.'s caravan must cross on the way to Kashmir. It 
was no longer a mere question of bad roads and mountaineering 
difficulties ; we were faced by an obstacle no peaceful expedition 
could hope to surmount, i.e., that of wild border tribes maddened by 
hunger. We anxiously followed the course of events, and it was 
soon clear that the Prince's Indian campaign must be deferred. 

But H.R.H. was determined to undertake some serious expe- 
dition in the course of the summer, and, owing to the uncertainty of 
conditions in India, decided to make a complete change in his 
plans, and attempt Mount St. Elias in South Alaska, near the 

2 



FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE 

confines of the Arctic regions and bordering on the coast of the 
Pacific Ocean. 

Situated at the northern end of an imposing range, the peak 
of St. EHas, 18,000 feet high, and visible from the sea at two 
hundred miles' distance, had attracted the notice of the first dis- 
coverers of the Alaskan coast a century and a half ago. But the 
mountain itself and its precincts remained unexplored until very- 
recent times. The first attempt to reach its summit was only made 
in 1886, and was followed by three other expeditions during the 
next five years. All were equally abortive, but all reaped a rich 
harvest of information regarding the peculiar characteristics of a 
region where glacial phenomena are developed on a grander 
scale than in any other part of the world excepting the polar 
zone. The last attempt to conquer the peak had been made in 
1891. 

H.R. H.'s new plan was settled early in February, 1897, and 
the long and complicated preparations were immediately begun. 
It was necessary to make an accurate study of the equipment 
required for a campaign during which we should be completely 
isolated for two months, at least, and being far from any possible 
base of supplies, unable to repair any blunder or omission, 
which, even if apparently slight, might be enough to doom us to 
failure. We knew that we should have to camp out on the ice 
for several weeks in an extremely damp climate, where rain and 
snow often fall without ceasing for many days in succession and 
where nothing combustible could possibly be found. The whole 
of our camp material, our stores of clothing and food, had to be 
selected with a view to the conditions in which we should have 
to live. 

Mr. Israel C. Russell, of Michigan (who had twice carefully 
explored the St. Elias region) ; Professor Fay, of Boston ; Dr. Paolo 
De Vecchi, and Professor Davidson, of San Francisco, all gave 
us valuable assistance by supplying much practical information 
and many bibliographical details. 

3 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



By the end of April everything was arranged. H.R. H. had 
chosen four ItaHan guides from the Yal d'Aosta : Giuseppe Petigax 
and Lorenzo Croux, of Courmayeur ; Antonio Maquignaz and 
Andrea Pelhssier, of Valtournanche ; and in addition to these, 
Erminio Botta, of Biella, who had been Sella's porter and photo- 
graphic assistant in the Caucasus. 

A few days before our start, we heard from America that Mr. 
Henry S. Bryant, of Philadelphia, was preparing an expedition for 
the same purpose as our own. 

We left Turin with about sixty cases containing all the stores 
and equipment procured in Italy, our personal luggage, photographic 

appliances, and part of 
the camp and sanitary 
material. 

Four days in London 
sufficed to get together all 
the other things ordered 
in advance, such as tents, 
ropes, waterproofs, etc. 
Our stock of food was to 
be laid in at San Fran- 
cisco.' 

We started for Liver- 
pool at midday on the 
22nd May. By 4 o'clock p.m. we were all on board the big 
Canard liner Liicania, and half an hour later steamed away from 
the crowded pier and speedily lost sight of the line of white 
handkerchiefs waving us farewell. Behind the pier stretched the 
great gray mass of the city, bristling with chimneys and smoke 
stacks, under a thin veil of mist. 

The voyage lasted six days, and with the usual monotony 
of a rapid crossing. There were few passengers, for spring is the 
moment for the American exodus to Europe, and the steamers 
' Vide Appendix A for full details of our equipment. 

4 




CAI'TAIN b LRlUCt 01 lUL "LUCAMA. 
From a Photo iv H.R.H.) 



FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE 

perform their westward course half empty, until the autumn brings 
crowds homeward bound. 

Our guides showed an indifference to their surroundings only 
to be compared with that of Arabs. Hurried away from their quiet 
valleys into the tumult of London, and thence on board, none of 
the strange new sights they saw roused them from their apathy. 
Of course they were sick during the first hours at sea, but speedily 
recovering, spent whole days in the second-class smoking-room 
playing endless games of cards. 

On the 28th May, at 10.30 p.m., the Liicania anchored at the 
quarantine station outside the port of New York. Early ne.xt 




ENTRANCE lO THE HARBOUR 01- NEW YORK. 



morning we steamed into harbour, and were instantly attacked by 
the first American reporters, who swarmed on board with the Health 
and Customs officers. Meanwhile the Liicania glided slowly up 
the great channel, through a crowd of steamers, tugs, barges, and 
sailing vessels ; past the pleasant homes of Jersey, all bowered in 
greenery ; past the gigantic elevators of New York harbour, and, 
after skirting the base of the colossal statue of Liberty, touched the 
Cunard pier at 8 o'clock. It was no light task to find, disentangle, 
and remove our sixty-six cases, struggling the while with a horde of 
porters, freight-agents, and fellow-travellers all busied as frantically 
as ourselves in recovering their luggage. 

The same day, at 3 p.m., our guides started for San Francisco 

5 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

with part of the baggage. Professor Fay, of Boston, who had come 
to meet H.R. H., and kindly offered every assistance to our expedi- 
tion, gave us the most efficient help. We learnt from him that 
Mr. Bryant had a fortnight's start of us in Alaska. We only spent 
one night in New York, and the next morning (30th May) were off 
to Chicago and San Francisco by the Pennsylvania Company's fast 
mail train. 

The express whizzes through towns and villages at full speed, 
merely clanging a bell as a signal to clear the line. Day and night 
one hears this characteristic warning in traversing inhabited places 
or entering stations. At first the country is flat, scantily wooded. 




NEW YORK, FROM THE HARBOUR. 

and chiefly arable land, but it soon becomes hilly, with many pleasant 
homesteads surrounded by trees, and before long we are in a 
mountainous district, with wide valleys and forest-clad slopes. 

Passing unawares from one State to another, we reached Chicago 
early in the morning of the 31st. Here a few hours' halt gave us 
time to visit the famous " Stock Yards," and to view the great 
military parade celebrating the anniversary of the War of Secession. 
Leaving in the evening, we awoke next day in the smiling Omaha 
region on the banks of the Missouri, which flows majestically be- 
tween rich meadows and groves enlivened by numerous herds and 
flocks. Soon the train begins to climb the first foothills of the 
" Rockies," the grass becomes thinner, then disappears, and is re- 

6 



FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE 



placed by an undulating waste of yellowish sand, dotted with patches 
of low, prickly scrub. The train mounts, at an easy gradient, 
to a series of terraces, whose precipitous cliffs overhanging the plain 
are furrowed with rain-channels. Here and there on the vast 
yellow plain below one sees patches of grass near wells, with a few 
browsing cattle and herdsmen's huts. The scanty villages scattered 
over the waste consist of miserable wooden shanties, hastily run 
up for the use of nomad cow-boys, condemned to be perpetually 
on the move to fresh pastures. 

Towards evening, we see the first buttresses of the Rockies, 
and one or two snow-peaks cutting the line of the horizon. 

Just for a few hours then and the next morning we felt chilly, 
and a little sleet was fall- 
ing on the summit of the 
pass, at 8,240 feet above 
the sea. 

But the other side of 
the range we are again in 
the heat. We skirt the 
northern shore of the Salt 
Lake, across an arid, 
grassless waste, so uniform in tint that one cannot distinguish the 
limit between sand and water. The lake is a desert expanse ; the 
Wahsatch hills shrink to nothingness at the feet of the precipitous 
Rockies. The day is dull and dreary ; but towards evening, when the 
waste is flooded with a rosy glow, and shadowy blue peaks are piled 
against the horizon, the landscape is full of poetic charm. After 
thirty-six hours in this desert, there comes a sudden change of scene. 
The line begins to re-ascend, and soon climbs the picturesque chain 
of the Sierra Nevada. Here and there the snow stretches down 
to the railway, which now climbs to 7,200 feet above the sea. 
Broad valleys and ridges are clothed with dense forests of pine. 
Unfortunately, the snow-sheds protecting the road from avalanches 
too often cut us off from the view. A few dazzling streaks of sun- 




CROSSI.NT, lllli MLKKA NEVADA. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

shine pierce through cracks in the timbers, and then the volume 
of smoke in the surrounding gloom is studded with sparkles of 
light. 

On the Pacific side the descent is very steep, and the line 
sometimes makes abrupt turns at the edge of precipices above 
unknown depths. Gold-mining camps have cleared great strips of 
forest and left hollows of yellow, sedimentary soil. Still hastening 
downwards, we traverse the fertile Sacramento valley, a paradise of 




IRAIN OX FERRY-BOAT. 
(.From It rlwto by H.R.H.) 

fruit trees, olives and vines, with a sea of ripening oats waving in 
the wind. At Port Costa the whole train is ferried across the arm 
of the sea that runs up to California by the Golden Gate. Another 
hour's travel brings us to Oakland, where a steamer takes us across 
the bay to San Francisco. It was now 9 p.m., 3rd June, and the 
great amphitheatre of the city glittered with innumerable lamps, 
accentuating the geometrical lines of the streets. 

Here in San Francisco more preparations filled our time. It 
was necessary to order in supplies of food. During the railway 



FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE 

journey, H.R. H. had made his plans, and arranged every detail with 
us. Soon our rooms were filled with samples of biscuits, tinned 
meats, preserved soups and vegetables, condensed milk, chocolate, 
etc., etc. With the restricted commissariat before us, everything had 
to be tasted, in order to choose what would be least likely to pall. 
Then, our purchases completed, H.R.H. worked with us a whole 
day and late into the night, making up fifty rations, each ration 
containing one day's supply of everything required to provision ten 
persons, i.e., ourselves and the guides. 



^^^^Bt .'^ 


•T^Mm- * 










1' 


^^^^Hb >. 










■^ 


Hb^l 










WL^ - '^ 


^^^H 










^^^ -i* 




^^^kj^ 


m 


i 


■f. 


,' •■.:-^ 






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THE VALLEY OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA. 



Next, these fifty rations were packed in as many tin cases, 
hermetically closed ; and fifty small bags were filled with tinned 
provisions requiring no extra protection from danij). By midnight, 
June 8th, we brought our work to an end. Everything was in order, 
and the whole equipment now weighed about 2,700 pounds. 

San Francisco is a charming city, with clean, spacious streets full 
of light and air. It has fewer oppressively enormous buildings 
than Chicago or New York. Being an agricultural centre, it is very 

9 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

quiet and exempt from the feverish turmoil of the industrial Eastern 
States. The higher parts of the city, commanding views of the 
ocean and the beautiful bay, contain hundreds of villas and cottages, 
nearly all built of wood. And, as this material readily lends itself 
to decorative freaks, fancy has run riot in the queerest carvings and 
adornments of every shape and size. Here too, as in Chicago, the 
foreigner is surprised by the total absence of carriages. 

Nowadays in America the horse has become almost exclusively 




THE SHASTA VOLCANO. 



an article of luxury, since for practical purposes, electric or other 
mechanical traction covers the ground quicker and at far less cost. 

In San Francisco Mr. M. B. Kerr, who had acted as topo- 
grapher to the first Russell expedition to St. Elias, presented H.R. H. 
with an outline map of the region, together with much interesting 
information regarding its glaciers. 

Dr. P. De Vecchi, Professor Davidson, Mr. MacAllister, secre- 
tary to the Geographical Society, and the secretary of the Alaskan 
Commercial Company, all did their utmost to assist our expedition. 

10 



FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE 



By arrangement with the Alaskan Commercial Company, one 
of their steamers altered its course in order to afford us a quick 
passage across the Pacific from Sitka to Yakutat, where there is no 
regular line of navigation. 

The further we went, 
the more impatient we 
felt to reach the field of 
action, and gladly resumed 
our journey on the even- 
ing of the 9th June. Our 
route followed the long 
Sacramento valley be- 
tween the Coast Range 
and Sierra Nevada, some- 
times in the depths of 
narrow gullies, sometimes 
on the crest of some 
mountain spur. 

Dense masses of pine, 
fir, and cedar cover all 
the ridges about us : chain 
beyond chain, a perfect 
tanele of mountains ! We 
pass mineral springs with 
spouting geysers twenty 
to thirty feet high, and at 
the head of the valley 
come in sight of the 
volcanic Mount Shasta, a smooth, snow-clad cone rising to an 
altitude of 14,350 feet, the boundary between the Sierra Nevada 
and the Cascade Range. Shasta Vale is a spacious, treeless 
pasture-land at about 2,500 to 2,600 feet above the sea; but as 
soon as we enter the State of Oregon the woods close round us 
again in all the wild luxuriance of a virgin forest. There are 

II 




A CALIFORNIAN RAILWAY STATION. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



coniferse of every size and variety, oaks, masses of thick-leaved 
plants, innumerable varieties of foliage in every shade of green. 
The railway rapidly climbs the mountain in the boldest curves, 
and as we rush along giddy crests we look straight down into 
deep ravines furrowed by the line we have travelled. 

In the moonlight the forest becomes fantastic. Our track is 
hedged in between dense walls of greenery ; the night breeze 
is charged with resinous odours and whiffs of strange fragrance 
from unfamiliar shrubs. At every turn, our train seems to be 
cleaving its own road through the wilderness. As the engines 
are fed with wood, the funnels send out spears of flame and 

showers of sparks, flash- 
in<r lio^ht for a moment 
on the nearer trunks. 
Here and there wide 
glades open before us, 
bristling with the skele- 
tons of charred trees, 
victims ot forest fires, 
stretching their mutilated, 
blackened limbs in the 
moonlight. A camp-fire 
here and there by some lonely hut only increases the sinister 
gloom of the woods behind it. Whenever the train has to cross 
a gully spanned by one of those slender bridges on wooden stilts, 
that even by daylight seem so insecure, it appears to be flying 
through space unsupported. 

On the morning of the i ith June we entered Washington 
State, crossing the huge Columbia River on a ferry-boat. The 
busy stream, crowded with steamers and serpent-like rafts, runs 
between low wooded hills. Being just now in flood, it spread 
over the valley to the edge of the railway bank. Passing 
through the forest that runs down to the coast, we reached 
Seattle at 6 o'clock p.m. 

12 




h:kkv-i:iiai 



IH'MIUA KIVKK. 



FROM TURIN TO SEATTLE 

This town, at the head of ElUot Bay, the inlet of one of 
the numerous intricate channels twisting southwards from Van- 
couver into Puget Sound, is hardly more than the skeleton of 
a great city. It was laid out in 1889 after the greater part of 
the old settlement had been destroyed by fire, and was ex- 
pected to outdo San Francisco in size and prosperity. So far, 
the prediction has not been fulfilled. Stately mansions are flanked 




•-.-~ ..^..'~t*^M\ 



SEATTLE, FROM THE SEA. 



by wretched hovels, and vacant building plots leave ugly blanks 
in the spacious streets. 

Five days before our arrival, the yacht Aggie, chartered by 
the Prince, had sailed from Seattle harbour with ten American 
porters on board. These were picked men engaged for the e.K- 
pedition and under the command of a Mr. Ingraham, who had 
been recommended to H.R. H. by Professors Russell and Fay. 
Ingraham had taken charge of the camp material and of two 

13 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

months' supplies for himself and the men. The Aggie was to 
wait for us at Sitka. 

After forty hours in Seattle, the morning of June 13th found 
us on board the small steamboat City of Topeka, bound for 
Sitka, the capital of Alaska. 



M 



CHAPTER II 



From Seattle to Juneau — The Alexander Archi- 
pelago and Alaska ' 



T' 




^HE word "Alaska" occurs 
for the first time in the 
chart of Captain Cook's first voyage 
(1778). It is derived from the 
aboriginal word " Al-ak-shak," sig- 
nifying " the great continent," and 
the country was discovered by Vitus 
Behring in 1741. Soon after- 
wards its shores were widely explored by numerous expeditions, 
both Russian and Spanish ; the latter moved by the hope of dis- 
covering the famous North-west Passage, the former by greed of 
conquest. Remaining subject to Russia down to 1867, Alaska was 
then sold to the United States for seven million dollars. It covers 
an area six and a half times larger than Great Britain (577,390 
square miles), with a coast line of 26,000 miles. It runs westward 
into a peninsula, which, together with the chain of the Aleutian 
Isles, divides the Behring Sea from the Pacific ; southward it is pro- 
longed into a narrow tongue of land skirting British Columbia for 
300 miles. 

The Aleutian Islands are famed for fur-seals of the highest 
market value, which abound there. Accordingly the American 
Government has found it necessary to do as the Russians did and 

' Vide Appendix F for index of the authorities referred to for particulars in this 
and the following chapter. 

15 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

regulate the seal fisheries by very stringent laws and international 
conventions for the due preservation at the north-western ex- 
tremity of the American continent of the precious amphibiae, which 
have been almost exterminated elsewhere. 

Off the west coast of Alaska there are great " banks " yielding 
cod and salmon, and immense shoals of herring. The region also 
carries on a flourishing fur trade with the Indians of the interior. 
The mineral wealth of Alaska is very great. Deposits of gold, 
silver, platinum, iron, and coal promise future prosperity to the land. 

According to the census of 1S90, this vast region then con- 
tained barely 32,052 inhabitants, composed of 4,298 whites, 23,531 
Indians, and 4,223 Mongols and half-breeds. 

The Indians are divided into four leading tribes, with different 
languages and customs ; and although no indication of their origin 
is found in their myths and traditions, experts now maintain that 
their ethnographical characteristics prove them to be descended 
from the aborigines of the central parts of the continent. 

The four principal groups, subdivided into many lesser tribes, 
are the Eskimo or Innuit, inhabiting- the coasts of Behrino- Sea and 
the Polar Ocean ; the Aleuti, of the Alaskan peninsula and Aleutian 
Isles ; the Athabaskan or Tinneh, of the interior ; and the Thlinket 
or Tlingit, whose villages lie on the southern coast of Alaska and in 
the islands of the Ale.xander Archipelago. These last are 4,500 in 
number, and, owing to prolonged intercourse with white men, have 
changed their customs more than the others. For a stretch of 600 
(geographical) miles, from Cape Flattery to Cape Spencer, along 
British Columbia and the southern arm of Alaska, the western 
shores of North America are frinofed with innumerable islands of all 
sizes, from Vancouver Island, 250 miles in length, to small rocks 
barely emerging from the surface of quiet channels. Mount 
Olympus to the south and Mount La Perouse to the north respec- 
tively dominate the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Cross Sound, the 
two outer gates of the archipelago. Both to north and south, 
channels running inland beyond the limits marked by the two moun- 

16 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

tains, form Puget Sound in Washington State, and Lynn Canal and 
Glacier Bay in Alaska. The part of the archipelago (little more 
than one-third) belonging to Alaska is known as the Alexander 
Archipelago. 

The political frontier of Alaska, starting from the southern 
end of Prince of Wales Island, passes through the centre of 
Portland Channel to the 56' parallel, and then follows the crest of 
the mountain chain on a line with the coast, wherever the chain is 
within 34|- miles from the sea, as far as the 141° meridian. At 
the point, however, where the Coast Range intersects the 141° meri- 
dian (Greenwich), this meridian marks the frontier as far north as 
the Polar Sea. The right angle thus formed, where the frontier, 
ceasing to run along the coast line, turns abruptly and follows the 
141° meridian, is occupied by no less colossal landmark than 
Mount St. Elias. 

The greater part of the interior of Alaska is entirely unex- 
plored. The rainfall is scanty, and the climate arctic. The ground 
at a foot beneath the surface remains frozen throughout the year. 
During the seven months of winter, daylight only lasts four hours, 
and the temperature drops to 59° F". below zero. 

There are no transition seasons, and the fine summer months 
are comparatively warm (60^-70° F), with the sun above the horizon 
for twenty hours daily. Towards the Polar Ocean and Behring 
Straits there are vast " tundras," ' as in Northern Siberia, the rest 
of the soil being boggy, with scattered brushwood or patches of 
dwarf trees near the rivers. The mountains only reach an altitude 
of 4,000 to 5,000 feet, and have no glaciers. The whole country is 
intersected by a close network of rivers and lakes, connected by so 
many branches that it is declared possible to traverse Alaska almost 
entirely by boat from one to the other sea. One giant river, the 
Yukon, bigger than the Mississippi itself, rises in Canada, runs 2,000 
miles through Alaska, and falls into the Behring Sea. 

1 "Tundras" are the vast treeless plains of the Arctic region, carpeted with 
moss and lichen. 

17 c 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

The climatic and geographical peculiarities of the coast zone of 
Southern Alaska are completely opposed to those of the interior. 
The great mountain ranges are clad with dense forest growth, and 
the warm current, Kuro-Siwo, from Japanese waters, makes the 
climate very mild. Near the coast the mean temperature of the sea 
is 50° F. Winter begins in December, and in May the snow 
vanishes from the lowlands. At Sitka the medium winter tempera- 
ture is 32'5° F., and there is a variation of barely 25° F. between the 
summer medium and the winter. The atmosphere is nearly always 
surcharged with moisture, and the hot south winds, laden with 




IN PUGET SOUND. 



watery mists, breaking against the lofty coast ranges, cause tremen- 
dous falls of rain and snow. At Sitka the average yearly rainfall is 
about 100 inches, and throughout the region there are not more 
than seventy really fine days in the year. This accounts for the 
huge size of the glaciers along the coast, some of which positively 
pour into the sea. 

Only the south coast, and, to be precise, only the portion 
covered by the Alexander Archipelago, possesses regular maritime 
communication with the United States. The service is carried on by 
two postal steamers, the Qiucn and the City of Topcka, which thread 
the intricate island channels by the so-called " Inland Passage," 
between Seattle (or Tacoma) and Sitka. 

18 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

We embarked early on the morning of the 13th of June on the 
smaller boat, City of Topeka, which after the Liicania seemed the 
reverse of sumptuous. But the grand scenery of the voyage was 
ample compensation for lack of comfort. The boat had to put back 
to Tacoma to complete her lading, so that the whole of our first day 
was spent in Puget Sound. Here the shores, vandyked in count- 
less bays, are mossed with green pine to the water's edge, while 
towering in the background, the distant snow-peaks of the Cascade 




SUNSET IN PUGET SOUND. 



Range cluster round their monarch, Mount Rainier (14,400 feet 
high). 

We had about seventy fellow-passengers, mostly business men, 
a few young ladies returning home to Alaska from schools in Cali- 
fornia or Washington State, and a sprinkling of tourists. In the 
second class, with our guides, were some miners, bound for the up- 
country gold diggings. 

The stores of poultry, fruit, and vegetables on deck, together 
with the cargo of meat and other provisions below, gave a poor 

19 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

idea of the food resources of Alaska. In fact, the summer there 
is too short for the growth of cereals, which can only ripen in certain 
spots, and even potatoes are not raised every year. Vegetables have 
been cultivated here and there with some success lately, thanks to 
infinite pains and patience. Cattle-breeding has great difficulties to 
contend with, as the animals suffer seriously from their prolonged 
winter confinement. The reindeer, introduced a few years ago, 
seem to be the only beasts that really thrive in Alaska. 

By the afternoon we were off Seattle, and late in the evening 




QUEEN CHARLOTTE SOUND. 

were near the mouth of Admiralty Inlet, in the Juan de Fuca 
Straits, and steering for Victoria, the capital of Columbia, on 
Vancouver Island. 

Once through the Juan de Fuca Straits, we were in Columbian 
waters, between Vancouver and the mainland, first in the wide Guh 
of Georgia, amid an amphitheatre of peaks, for the most part still 
covered with snow, and then through the tortuous channels of Dis- 
covery and Johnstone Pass, enclosed by high cliffs, against which 
the water breaks in seething floods, and where the course seems 
barred at every turn by precipitous walls of rock. 

20 




X 
W 

< 



< 



g 



? 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

Emergino- into Queen Charlotte Sound, the steamer threads 
her way through a labyrinth of islets and reefs barely projecting 
above the surface, at some distance from the low shores. 

After rounding the northern end of Vancouver, the boundless 
ocean opens out, and our small vessel pitches heavily among the 
rollers ; but soon we enter another smooth channel overshadowed 
by great cliffs. 

The entire coast, with all its islands, rocks, gentle slopes, 




IN THE CHANNELS OF THE ARCHU'ELAGO. 



sheer cliffs, and dark gorges, is so overgrown by dense forests of 
firs, that, from a distance, the whole seems one mass of velvety 
green. 

The prevailing growth throughout the forests of the archi- 
pelago is the Sitka fir {Abies sitkensis). This tree supplies the 
natives with building materials, household utensils, canoes and 
sledges, while its branches serve for torches during the long winter 
nights. Less numerous are the white larch, the pine {Pimis con- 

21 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

torta), and certain varieties of fir. The yellow cedar [Cnpresstcs 
nntcanensis), a much-prized wood, was nearly exterminated under the 
Russian rule. 

The forests are populated by deer, roebucks, bears (both brown 
and black), wolves, foxes, sheep, and mountain goats. Stags are 
occasionally caught while swimming some channel to escape the 
wolves. 

Now and then an Indian fishing village on the margin of the 
forest, the light canoes, or some tiny boat with a triangular sail, 




IX THE ALEXANDER ARCHIPELAGO. 



plying close to the shore, lend a wild charm of remoteness to the 
scene. 

As we go farther north the days grow longer, the air is more 
misty, especially in the morning and early afternoon ; the cold, 
diffused light spreads a general monotony, and the leaden sky is 
reflected in a colourless sea. 

Entering Alaskan waters, the steamer touches Mary Island, 
a small outpost of the Alexander Archipelago, and after calling 
at a few Indian villages to land stores we reach Fort Wrangel, 
on the island of that name, and the first Alaskan town of any 
importance. Importance, however, is a relative term. The town- 




MARY ISLAND. 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

ship counts a few hundred inhabitants, chiefly Thlinket Indians, 
whose huts are ranged alons; the beach near the better sort of two- 
storied dwellings of the 
whites. 

The little town is 
commanded by a Govern- 
ment House, where the 
authorities reside. Behind 
the Indian cabins are the 
tombs of certain schamdn, 
or wizards, guarded by 
masts, some 80 to 100 feet 
high, bearing roughly carved symbols, in the shape of animals, on 
their summits. In front of some of the houses, similar poles are 
erected. These are totems, or ancestral pillars, the equivalents 
of family crests among the Indians. Before a man's house, on 
his canoe, or his garments one finds the totem of the tribe or 
family to which he belongs, and it is even worked into personal 
ornaments of carved horn or ivory, sometimes showing a certain 
artistic sense. 

The Thlinket are schamanists or fetichists ; they believe all 
natural phenomena to contain spirits, good or evil. The mightiest 

of these spirits is Yehl, 
symbolized by the raven ; 
next Kanukh, by the wolf; 
and Tset'kh, by the whale. 
Many of the Thlinket are 
now converts to Christian- 
ity, although it is hard to 
decide whether their com- 
prehension penetrates be- 
yond external rites to a 
genuine religious conception. Many of them are clothed like white 
men, some can speak English, and a few have learnt to read and 

23 




WRANGEL STRAITS. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

write. But outwardly, at least, they show few signs of civilization. 
They are less ferocious than a century ago, and have almost given 
up the practice of tattooing and of wearing rings in the lips or nose ; 
but their appearance and mode of life are pretty much the same as 
were described by Vancouver in 1794. They are revoltingly dirty; 
inside and out their dwellings are intolerable, owing to the stench 
of accumulated filth. 




TOTEM rOLEb AT FOKT WRANGEL. 



On the mainland, near Fort Wrangel, is the mouth of the 
Stikine, the chief river of Southern Alaska. 

Springing from glacier torrents, its milky current makes a 
distinct white streak in the blue ocean to a considerable distance out 
at sea. Both in 1862 and 1S75, the discovery of auriferous deposits 
in the upper river basin awakened great hopes for the future of Fort 
Wrangel, but the " placers" yielded so little ore that they were soon 
abandoned. 

Fort Wrangel is the gate of the northern seas, and beyond it 
we are soon in the midst of truly Arctic scenery. The passage of 

24 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

Wrano-el Straits is difficult navicratioii durino; the first few hours, 
owing to the numerous reefs just above the surface and the force of 
the tidal currents ; but the channels widen later on. Outlines of 
snow mountains and of rocky peaks are faintly distinguished, appar- 
ently at a great distance, and the greenish-white sc'racs of the first 
glaciers are visible below the sullen, grey mists. Next we enter 
Prince Frederick Sound, resembling a vast, clear, placid lake. Far 
away great snowy ranges rise above the water, and the sea is dotted 




JUNEAU. 



with numerous rocks and islands. Suddenly the first iceberg is sig- 
nalled, and soon our steamer is in the midst of white floatine masses, 
which drift slowly and noiselessly with the current, rocked by the 
long waves in the vessel's wake. Beneath a sky heavy with purple 
clouds, projecting vast shadows on the face of the water, the pure 
white icebergs seem to radiate a brilliancy of their own in the cold, 
diffused light of the colourless atmosphere around them. 

Dark green fir-clad islets emerge in the midst of this polar 
scene, and all about us is an indescribable stir of life, a crying and 

25 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

callinor of birds, a cominof and soins: of livino- things. Bald headed 
eagles perch motionless on the firs, flights of gulls circle round the 
ship ; the very icebergs afford a resting-place to the flights of wild 
duck which fringe every ledge and take wing in clouds at the 
approach of the steamer. The glistening back of a whale suddenly 
emerges from the smooth green sea, only to disappear again in 
a swirl of spray. Schools of porpoises disport themselves in the 




JUNEAU BAY. 



wake of our vessel as she glides through masses of jelly-fish and 
great waving weeds. 

The next port we touch at is Juneau, founded in 1880 by 
a prospector who was tempted to settle there with a few com- 
rades on the strength of certain nuggets picked up by Indians 
near the spot. Although the youngest-born of Alaskan towns, 
Juneau has quickly become the most populous. In 1S90 it already 
counted 1,253 inhabitants, and is rapidly increasing. As usual, 
the houses are of wood and the streets paved with planks, 

26 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

save in the higher part of the city, still in course of construction, 
where tree-stumps as yet fill the gaps among the houses. 
Juneau has electric light, public baths, hotels, theatres, three 
churches — Catholic, Greek, and Protestant — one hospital, and a 
local newspaper. Its prosperity is derived from the neighbouring 
gold-mines at Treadwell, and from being the starting-point and 




A STREET IN JUNEAU. 



base of supplies for diggers bound inland to the Yukon basin. 
Small gold-camps are scattered all over Alaska, and prospectors 
have been exploring the country in every direction for a good 
many years. Since 1885, however, the chief mining centre is 
the Upper Yukon basin, where gold-washing and digging have 
been gradually extended to all the tributaries of the main river. 
It was in one of these lateral valleys, the Klondike, that the 
fabulous gold deposits which have startled the world were first 
discovered a month after our arrival. In 1890, the yield in this 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



^MN 


> 


'^m 


fel' 


•*^^Bi 





JUNEAU, FROM THE SEA. 



district was 50,000 dollars; in 1891, 70,000; and in 1896 the 
population had risen to 1,700 souls, and the yield to 1,400,000 

dollars. 

The district which 
promises the largest yield 
covers an area of 700 
square miles. The miners, 
chiefly Americans, have 
founded a settlement 
known as Dawson City, 
which is situated in British 
territory, being to the 
south of 141'^ meridian, as 
is indeed the greater por- 
tion of the gold-bearing 
district. This town is nearly 676 miles from Juneau. The two 
routes most frequented are by the passes of Chilkoot and Chilkaat, 
co/s of the Coast Range, at the extremity of Lynn Canal, north 
of Juneau. By these passes the route descends either to the White 
River or to the Lewis, 
both tributaries of the 
Yukon, and the journey 
is continued on boats and 
rafts. Dawson City can 
be also reached by going 
up the Yukon from its 
mouth in Behring Sea, 
but this is a much longer 
route. 

The severe climate 
of the interior, the dis- 
tance of Dawson City 

from the coast, and the enormous difficulties of transport, render 
the victualling of the numerous immigrants a very difficult problem. 

28 




A CHURCH IX JU.VEAU. 




X 
M 

u 

< 

O 
% 

o 



X 

a 

X 

< 






u 

D 
O 

< 



FROM SEATTLE TO JUNEAU 

Besides, gold-washing can only be carried on for about three 
months of the year, as the intense cold of the long, dark Arctic 
winter makes all work impossible. 




I HE TREAHWtLL GOLD-MINES. 



29 



CHAPTER III 



From Juneau to Yakutat — The Muir Glacier, 
Sitka, and the Coast Range 




T' 



*HE nio[ht after leav- 
ing Juneau was the 
most fantastic of the 
voyage. As the sun went 
down, the whole horizon, 
bounded by vast snowy 
ranges, became marvel- 
lously clear, and was 
gradually tinged with most 
delicate sunset hues. At lo p.m. it was still broad day ; then, 
until midnight, the light waned little by little. The rosy glow on 
snov/fields and summits became paler; the orange, blue, and carmine 
streaks on the sea gradually melted into fainter and more ex- 
quisite tints. But, in the west, a band of tawny crimson still hung, 
throwing strange reflections on the mountains beneath. The rest 
of the sky was a pale blue, growing fainter and colder towards 
the horizon. Against this, all the mountains stood out in their 
minutest details, with the crude white of their snowfields and the 
curious, delicate indentation of their crests. No light proceeded 
from the dull, yellow moon ; the stars were few and faint. At 
1.30 a.m. the new day began to dawn, while the colours gradually 
faded away from the west. Our vessel glided on silently — 
furtively, as it were — in the solemn stillness of this enchanted 
world. 

30 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

After rounding the headland dividing the Lynn Canal from 
Glacier Bay, we began to meet icebergs, few and scattered at 
first, but soon many in number — fragments of the glaciers that 
fall into the bay a little way ahead. But we were in the realm 
of marvels, of sudden chanfjes of scene. The air being saturated 
with moisture speedily condenses at the least lowering of temper- 
ature, whenever the wind veers or the sun goes behind a cloud. 
A sheet of gray fog lies low on the horizon, gradually spreading 




AN ICEBERG IN GLACIER BAY. 



until the whole sea is shrouded by a thin white veil, that is 
luminous, but not transparent. Then our engines have to be 
stopped, to avoid collisions with icebergs. The latter are not alarm- 
ing in appearance ; but as the mass of ice seen above the water 
is but a small fraction of the total bulk, the shock of collision 
might be serious. They emerge suddenly out of the fog, and, 
drifting with the current, vanish as suddenly as they come. 

All at once the sun reappeared : a pale disc in a huge halo 
of vapour, and in a few seconds, as by magic, the fog cleared, 

31 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELI AS 

and light and colour returned. The gray sea changed to amethystine 
blue; thousands ot wild duck, startled by the proximity of the 
steamer, rose in long, clamorous flights from icebergs and water. 
But in ten minutes we were once more wrapped in fog. 
And for hours these changes of scene went on, only varied by 
the amusement of seeing fragments of the bergs fished up to re- 
plenish our stock of ice. 




GLACIER BAY. 



At last the sun, risen high above the horizon, finally disperses 
the fog, so that our vessel is able to make the bay at the foot of the 
majestic Muir Glacier. Now the whole atmosphere is brilliantly 
bright and clear. The blue surface of the sea, scarcely a shade 
deeper than the sky, is slightly ruffled and intersected with streaks of 
shining water traced by the currents, and dotted with innumerable 
small icebergs, while here and there some gigantic block preserves 
still the irregularly geometrical form peculiar to scracs.^ Some 

' iSIr. \\'right, the geologist, measured some icebergs in Glacier Bay, of 500 feet 
in length and with a bulk of 40,000,000 cubic feet. 

32 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

stand high out of water, others form huge floating slabs ; now and 
again, a combination of many smaller bergs welded together assumes 
a quaint and unusual shape. 

Among the white blocks with their delicate, flower-like frost- 
work, we note a few polished masses of sea-green hue. These are 
bergs which have turned upside down, thus exposing the portion 
originally submerged. 

This bay is bounded by two large glacier beds. To the 




AN ICEIiERG IN GLACIER BAY. 



left rises the range dominated by mounts La Perouse, Crillon, 
and Fairweather, which rival the grandest of known peaks in the 
boldness of their outline ; the nearer peaks, lower and less isolated, 
remain almost unnoticed before these majestic summits. The whole 
chain covers a promontory of from thirty to forty miles in width, 
between Glacier Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Four glaciers flow 
down into the bay, divided from the Muir Glacier by a small rocky 
spur that shoots out into the sea and splits the gulf in two. 

To the right of the Fairweather chain, and at the head of 

33 » 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



the inlet, the Muir Glacier forms an enormous plateau, ending 
abruptly at the water's edge in a sheer wall of ice, one mile in 
length and 250 feet high, crowned by countless pinnacles and 
spires. Its base is undermined by the force of the waves, and 
worn into numerous gullies and caverns. Every few minutes there 
is a cannonade of ice-blocks falling from this cliff, which, as they 
strike the water, throw up clouds of spray into the air. From 

this vast front of ice, 
broken and seamed as it is 
by innumerable crevasses, 
the glacier stretches inland 
almost level, to a huge 
amphitheatre fifty or sixty 
miles in diameter, where 
it is fed by nine greater 
and seventeen lesser ice- 
streams flowing down from 
summits which have no 
special beauty of outline. 
The Muir Glacier 
was first explored in 1879 
by the geologist whose 
name it bears; in 1S86, 
Mr. H. F. Wright, with 
two companions, spent a 
month in the bay to study 
its rate of motion. Ills observations have established some sur- 
prising facts regarding the motion of the glacier. 

During the month of August, an average of 40 feet flows 
into the bay, i.e., 70 feet in the centre and 10 feet at the 
sides.^ As the front of the Muir Glacier has a section-surface 

• The rate of descent in glaciers is determined by the same laws as that of rivers. 
In either case the current is swifter in the centre than at the sides, swifter also nearer 
the surface than deeper beneath. 

34 




GLACIAL TORRENT IN THE MUIR MORAINE. 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

of 5,000,000 square feet, it discharges daily into the sea more 
than 200,000,000 cubic feet of ice. Only in Greenland has 
anything approaching this velocity been noted. The glaciers 
of the Alps move at a much slower rate ; the maximum speed, 
as shown by the repeated observations of Hugi, Agassiz, Forbes, 
and Tyndall, being, in the case of the Aletsch Glacier, 19 inches, 
of the Grindelwald, 22 inches, and of the Chamonix Mer de 
Glace, 30 inches daily. 

This notable difference seems all the more remarkable, as the 
Muir Glacier comes down 
at a gradient of barely 100 
feet to the mile, whereas 
the easiest gradients of 
Alpine glaciers are of 
about 250 feet to the mile. 
Accordingly, another ex- 
planation is required to 
account for the difference ; 
and considering the Muir 
Glacier's enormous superi- 
ority in bulk over those 
of the Alps, we are forced 
to conclude that a glacier's 

rate of movement depends far less on the inclination of the bed 
than on the volume of the ice-current itself (see Wright). 

There are many infallible signs that the Muir Glacier is shrink- 
ing, and at so rapid a rate, that its cliff-lip has receded more than a 
thousand yards between the years 1886 and 1890.^ Going back to 

1 Readers unacquainted with glacial phenomena may find a discrepancy between 
our statement that the front of the Muir Glacier has shrunk back, and the rapid move- 
ment in advance verified by Wright. Yet this discrepancy is only apparent. The bulk 
of a glacier is owed to two causes, which act in a contrary way : the quantity of fallen 
snow, and the melting of the ice by solar heat. The first cause always over-rules the 
second in the upper portion of the glacier, inasmuch as the yearly snowfall there is 
greater than the amount melted by the sun, and it is precisely the overplus that drops 

35 




'CITY OF TOPEKA" STE.4MB0AT IN GLACIER BAY. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



earlier times, we have a valuable document dating from 1794, in 
the description of Glacier Bay bequeathed to us by Vancouver 
in the history of his voyage round the world. 

According to his account, the Muir Glacier then occupied nearly 
the whole of the bay now taken up by the sea. Later on, when 
Wright thoroughly explored the bay, he obtained undeniable proofs 
of the enormous extent of the glacier at an earlier period. Certain 
rocky islets near the opening of the bay, at fifteen miles' distance 
from the glacier's present front, show undoubted signs of having 
been formerly covered by glacier ice ; while on the cliffs round the 
bay, at 3,700 feet above the sea, striated rocks attest the action of the 

glacier that once filled the 
valley up to that height. 
The City of Topeka 
dropped anchor among 
the icebergs a short dis- 
tance from the glacier's 
frontal wall, and the pas- 
sengers were landed where 
a path traced in the narrow 
and easy moraine afforded 
easy access to the frozen 
plateau. Here we were struck by the vastness of the glacier bed ; 
but the view is far more imposing from the sea than from the 
dirty ice, close to the bare, gravelly ridges of the moraine. Among 




A \VALK ON HIE MUIK GLACIER. 



to the bottom of the ravine in the shape of ice. Now, three conditions may ensue : 
when the quantity of, ice formed above exceeds the yearly amount hquefied below 
the limit of perpetual snow, the glacier increases in bulk, and its terminal front is 
pushed forward ; when, on the other hand, the quantity of fresh ice balances the 
quantity melted, the bulk of the glacier is unchanged, although its downward motion 
persists ; but when less ice comes down from the upper snow-fields than the amount 
melted below, the glacier's bulk is necessarily diminished. This diminution is more 
marked in the terminal front than elsewhere, and consequently, the snout seems to 
have receded. But this, apparently, retrograde movement does not interfere with the 
glacier's descent, for this continues without ceasing. Only, the advancing mass is no 
longer sufficient to entirely replace the quantity of ice converted into water. 

36 







D 



•X, 



X. 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

the crevasses we noticed a signal-pole fixed on a pedestal, and 
the foremost members of the party hastened to seize it and 
move it a good distance higher up, convinced that they had 
mounted farther than any previous explorer. But they forgot 
that during the fortnight's interval since the last steamer put in, 
the glacier movement must have carried the pole down about 
1,000 feet. 

On returning to the shore we found a dozen Indians — men, 




INDIANS IN GLACIER HAY. 



women, and children — collected there, with some lynx skins and 
baskets of coloured seaweed for sale. They formed a typical 
group, squatting on the earth, wrapped in brick-red blankets, bare- 
foot and bare-headed, with their long, smooth black hair, yellow 
faces, high cheek-bones, prominent jaws, slanting eyes, flat noses, 
and straight, thin-lipped mouths. The men had a few bristles on 
lip and chin ; the women's faces were smeared with a dark, shining 
paste, composed of grease, turpentine, and lamp-black, to protect 
their complexions from sunburn. 

37 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Hard by on the sandy beach were the three canoes in which 
these Indians had crossed the bay, and the carcase of a young 
seal they had killed on the way. Their light, graceful canoes are 
made of hollowed trunks, and they manage to give them the 
proper curves by filling them with water, raised to boiling-point 
by red-hot stones. 

On leaving the Muir Glacier our course lay due south, to- 
wards Sitka. After the day of clear weather came a very prolonged 




THE BAY OF SITKA. 



twilight, fading in endless gradation of tones over the bay dotted 
with the blue and white points of the icebergs and on the lofty 
summits girdling the coast. The sinking sun crowned the Fair- 
weather range with a halo of splendour before finally sinking into 
the sea of molten gold on the horizon, and leaving behind it only 
the colourless diffused light of the northern night, so fantastic and 
strange. The air was perfectly still, the sea without a ripple, 
while here and there we marked the columns of water thrown 
up by whales. 

3S 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

At 2.30 p.m., on June 20th, our seven diiys voyage ended in 
the port of Sitka, which at that moment had a very Hvely aspect. 
There were five Government ships on coast survey and revenue 
service ; the yacht Aggie, chartered by the Prince, had been at 
anchor for four days, and rocked gracefully beside the stumpy 
Bertha, the steamer of the "Alaskan Commercial Company," which 
was to transport us as far as Yakutat, taking the Aggie in tow. 

Sitka stands on the island of Baranoff, at the far end of a 
bay open to the ocean, and sprinkled with rocks and small islets. 




^.I1KA, KKuM iilt sbA. 



The city is built on a delta of pasture-land, with a picturesque 
background of steep rocky heights. It has 1,200 inhabitants, is 
the present seat of government, and the centre of the Alaskan 
coast-district.^ Salmon fisheries and tanneries constitute its trading 
resources. The cool climate, and the charming situation also, 
attract a good many visitors to Sitka during the summer. Facing 
the town, on the litde island that guards the bay on the north, 
the extinct volcano of Mount Edgecumbe rises to about 8,000 feet 
above the sea. The Indians have made this mountain the theme 

1 The United States have only had a regular government in Alaska since the 
year 1884. Sitka and Fort Wrangel are alternately its seat. 

39 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

of a very interesting legend, given as follows by Mr. C. E. S. 
Wood in his article on the Thlinkets ^ : — 

"A long time ago the earth sank beneath the water, and the 
water rose and covered the highest places, so that no man could 
live. It rained so hard that it was as if the sea fell from the sky. 
All was black, and it became so dark that no man knew another. 
Then a few people ran here and there and made a raft of cedar 
logs, but nothing could stand against the white waves, and the 
raft was broken in two. 

" On one part floated the ancestors of the Thlinkets, on the 
other the parents of all other nations. The waters tore them apart, 
and they never saw each other again. Now their children are all 
different, and do not understand one another. In the black tempest, 
Chethl was torn from his sister, Ah-gish-ahn-akhon (the woman 
who supports the earth), and Chethl (symbolized in the osprey) 
called aloud to her : ' You will never see me again, but you will 
hear my voice for ever!' Then he became an enormous bird, and 
flew to south-west till no eye could follow him. 

" Ah-gish-ahn-akhon climbed above the waters and reached 
the summit of Edgecumbe. The mountain opened and received 
her into the bosom of the earth. That hole (the crater) is where 
she went down. Ever since that time she has held the earth 
above the water. The earth is shaped like the back of a turtle, 
and rests on a pillar. Evil spirits that wish to destroy mankind 
seek to overthrow her and drive her away. The terrible battles are 
long and fierce in the lower darkness. Often the pillar rocks and 
sways in the struggle, and the earth trembles and seems like to fall ; 
but Ah-gish-ahn-akhon is good and strong, so the earth is safe. 
Chethl lives in the bird Kunna-kaht-eth. His nest is on the top of 
the mountain, in the hole through which his sister disappeared. 

" He carries whales in his claws to this eyrie, and there de- 
vours them. He swoops from his hiding-place and rides on the 
edge of the coming storm. The roaring of the tempest is his 

' The Century Magazine, July, 1882. 
40 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

voice calling to his sister. He claps his wings in peals of thunder, 
and its rumbling is the rustling of his pinions. The lightning is 
the flashing of his eyes." 

With the Aggie had arrived our ten American porters, 
powerful young fellows, picked out for the expedition by E. S. 
Ingraham, familiarly known as "The Major." They worked hard, 
jointly with our guides, all the afternoon of the 20th June, trans- 




ferring our stores from the steamer to the yacht, which already 
held the Americans' equipment. By 7 p.m. the task was done, 
and at 2 a.m. (21st June) we made our start, — -H.R. H. and our 
party on the Bertha, the guides and porters on the yacht in tow. 

The Bertha was an old boat of about 1,500 tons, short, broad- 
beamed, and so very high out of water that the slightest gale of 
wind would set her pitching and rolling outrageously. 

The only passengers in addition to our own party were two 
ladies making this Northern voyage in search of health. We were 

41 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



obliged not to steam more than five miles an hour, on account of 
the Hght yacht we had in tow, as every jerk of the cable dragged 
her bows under water. Dull, hazy weather prevented us from 
enjoying the spectacle of the grand range of summits rising from 
the coast to heights of some 15,000 feet and more. 

The Alexander Archipelago ends at Cape Spencer, and from 
this point the coast-line trends north-west, bare and straight. 
For about 300 miles the only important inlet is the Bay of Yakutat. 
Small vessels can also find shelter in Lituya Bay, at the foot of the 

Fairweather chain ; but 
the rest of the shore lies 
open, exposed to the full 
fury of the ocean, and 
so violent a surf that 
landing is always very 
dangerous and often im- 
possible. 

This coast is com- 
manded by the loftiest 
rampart that ever Nature 
set along a shore, no less 
maantic a sea-wall than 
the rano-e which com- 

o 

prises La Perouse (1 1,300 
feet), Crillon (15,900), and Fairweather (15,500). 

North of the latter summit the chain becomes lower, running 
still parallel with the coast, and has no peaks higher than from 
5,000 to 8,000 feet as far as Yakutat Bay. Here it again rises 
rapidly to Mount Vancouver (12,100 feet), Mount Cook (13,750), 
Mount Augusta (13,900), and reaches its culminating point in 
Mount St. Elias, 18,000 feet above the sea. 

The whole of this range is merely a part of the vast mountain- 
system extending along the western coasts of the two Americas, 
and of which the partly submerged northern end forms the volcanic 

42 




CHURCH AT SITKA. 



FROM JUNEAU TO YAKUTAT 

range (1,000 geographical miles in length) of the Aleutian Islands. 
The crowning peaks of this northern group, from La Perouse to 
St. Elias, rise at a little distance from the sea. From an altitude of 
2,500 feet and upwards they are covered with eternal snow, and 
thousands of glaciers flow down their slopes to the north and 
south, many of which reach the sea ' or very near it. 

These glaciers are of greater dimensions than any others in 
the northern hemisphere excepting those of Greenland. The 
presence of so vast an ice world in a region with the comparatively 
mild climate of southern Alaska is owing to the fact that no very 
low temperature is required for the formation of extensive glaciers, 
but only a very damp climate, together with the general meteoro- 
logical conditions fitted to precipitate watery vapour into snow 
(Lyell). 

Throughout this region of ice all glaciers are shrinking ; their 
diminution probably began one hundred or a hundred and fifty 
years ago, and proceeds very gradually, at the rate of two feet 
a year in every glacier. Very slight variations in the annual amount 
of fallen snow, when repeated many years in succession, suffice 
to produce a notable increase or decrease in the bulk of a glacier. 
Accordingly it has been impossible, so far, to ascertain the climatic 
changes that produce this retrograde motion of the Alaskan glaciers, 
and all the more impossible because regular and well-combined 
observations have only been recently undertaken. 

On the 22nd June we had a calmer sea, but the horizon was 
quite as clouded as on the previous day. We were now in the 
" Fairweather " waters, renowned for the great number of whales 
formerly captured there (between 1846 and 1851). 

Mount Fairweather owes its name to the whalers, for they 
had observed that when this peak was free from cloud they 
could confidently reckon upon several days of fine weather. 

1 In Europe, glaciers come down to the sea at the 67th degree of latitude (von 
Buch); in Alaska at the 57th parallel (Russell); and in S. America still nearer to 
the Equator — at 46° 50' lat. S. (Darwin). 

43 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

We reached the entrance of Yakutat Bay about 9 o'clock p.m., 
and having rounded Ocean Cape, the Bertha and the Aggie came 
into Port Mulgrave and dropped anchor about 10 o'clock off the 
litde Indian village of Yakutat. On sighting our vessels the natives, 
waving pine torches, swarmed to the beach, with savage yells, to 
which the barking of innumerable dogs made an ear-splitting 
accompaniment. 

The Rev. Carl J. Hendriksen, a Swedish missionary established 
near the Indian village, soon paid us a visit on board, and willingly 
agreed to take regular observations with a mercurial barometer 
we left in his care, during the whole time employed in our ascent 
of Mount St. Elias. Rev. Hendriksen had spent eight years 
in this out-of-the-way corner of the world, leading a life of self- 
sacrifice and abnegation, and wholly devoted to the moral and 
physical improvement of this primitive tribe. A schoolmistress 
shares his labours. The entire wealth of the Mission consists in 
two cows, a few fowls, and a small garden-plot yielding a scanty 
crop of vegetables about every third year. Meat is a rare luxury, 
only to be had when the Indians are lucky in the chase. 

The teacher told me that the Indians are not hostile, though 
indifferent to the school, and that several of the children show quick- 
ness in learning. The village population is somewhat over three 
hundred. Like all Thlinkets, they spend most of their life on the 
water, either engaged in salmon-fishing or hunting seal and otter. 

Thanks to the missionary's active benevolence, the settlement 
numbers about fifty well-built houses, mostly of two storeys. 

At 2 o'clock the next morning we again put to sea, bound 
for the western coast of the bay, covered by the Malaspina Glacier, 
where we were to land. The real starting-point of our undertaking 
was now at length before us. 



44 




< 



CHAPTER IV 
The History of Mount St. Elias ' 

"Those who went first and opened the way are not less entitled to credit than 
those who came afterwards, and reaped the fruit of their predecessors' labours." — 
D. Freshfield.2 



M' 



OST geographers apply the 
name of " St. Elias Alps " to 
the whole niountain system 
bounded by St. Elias to the 
north and La Perouse to the 
south. For a long stretch of 
about I So geographical miles 
these alps run parallel with the 
- Pacific coast, and separated from 

the sea by a narrow strip almost 

- ._ entirely covered by the mighty 

glaciers flowing down from the 
range. Yakutat Bay, thrusting inland by the narrow and tortuous 
fiord known as Disenchantment Bay, divides the mountains into 
two groups, consisting of the Fairweather chain to the south, and of 
the Cook and St. Elias chains to the north. 

Yakutat Bay is twenty miles wide at the entrance, and retains 
the same width for some distance inland, until narrowed by an 

1 For the authorities and sources of information used in compiling this chapter, 
vide Appendix E. The history of the first exploration of the St. Elias region is mostly 
summarized from Mr. Russell's accurate account in the report of his first expedition, 
published in the National Geographic Magazine of May, 1891 (Washington). 
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, May, 1887, p. 16. 

45 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

abrupt curve of its eastern coast as far as the opening of Dis- 
enchantment Bay, which is barely three miles wide. The greater 
part of the eastern coast, guarded by a string of low, wooded islands 
and with many natural creeks, forms a highland plateau rising from 
2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea and covered with forests. This 
plateau is dominated by a low mountain range, with numerous snow- 
fields and s^laciers joininaf Fairweather to the south, and runninof 
round the head of the bay until it is finally merged in the Cook 
range beyond. 

The west coast of the gulf forms the eastern Hank of a trreat 
tableland, bounded on the south by the Pacific, with an almost 
unbroken shore-line, exposed to the full fury of the ocean surf. 
The Malaspina Glacier spreads over this plateau, at an average 
height of 1,500 feet above the sea, rising gradually to the feet of 
the mighty chains behind, and extending for a distance, as yet un- 
known, to the west of Mount St. Elias. The mighty glaciers which 
flow down the southern flank of the range to feed the Malaspina will 
be mentioned farther on. The entire region to the north of the 
St. Elias and Cook chains is still unexplored ; C. Willard Hayes, 
who has crossed overland from the Yukon basin to that of the 
Copper River, is the only traveller who has given any information 
about the great glaciers which flow to the north. 

On the 20th July, 1741, Vitus Behring, a Russian navigator, 
discovered the south coast of Alaska, and anchored his vessel, the 
5/. Peter, off the island of Kayak, 180 miles north of Yakutat. 
South-east of his moorings, he saw a great mountain rising from 
the sea, and covered with snow from summit to base. In honour 
of the patron saint of the day, this peak was named St. Elias. It 
is possible that the name was not chosen entirely on that account. 
Mr. Freshfield has observed that the prophet Elias seems to be the 
special patron of mountains wherever the Eastern forms of Chris- 
tianity have prevailed. Many mountains in Greece bear the same 
name, and are crowned with chapels dedicated to the saint ; while 
the altars of Zeus on Olympus have been replaced by monasteries 

46 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

likewise dedicated to St. Elias. In the Caucasus there is still a 
tradition that when the primitive tribes were driven up into the 
mountains by the Circassians, the vision of the outraged saint was 
frequently seen on the highest peaks, and that they carried offerings 
to him of milk, butter, and beer. Some writers derive the saint's 
connection with mountains from the important part in the Trans- 
figuration assigned to Elias by the Greek Church ; whereas it is 
asserted by others that, owing to similarity of name, Elias succeeded 
to altars originally dedicated to Helios, the Sun. 

Mr. Freshheld suggests that another explanation might be found 
in the survival of the belief attributed to the prophet's sons, who 
sent an expedition composed of fifty strong men in search of Elias, 
thinking that " peradventure the spirit of the Lord hath cast him 
upon some mountain." ' 

Mount St. Elias brought no good fortune to its discoverers. 
For three months the SL Peter lay in Alaskan waters, buffeted by 
storms, and was then wrecked by a hurricane on the coast of the 
Commander Islands. Behring died there with most of his crew. 
The few survivors wintered on the islands, afterwards succeeded in 
reaching the coast of Kamschatka, and finally got back to Russia. 

The first measurement of St. Elias was made in 1786 by 
Mons. Dagelet, astronomer to the expedition round the world 
undertaken by La Perouse with his two ships La Boussole and 
n Astrolabe. By his calculations' the height was 12,672 feet. The 
summit rose above the clouds ; between the long chain of snow- 
peaks and the sea lay a great plateau which, according to La 
Perouse's description, looked completely bare of vegetation, and, 
composed of black, calcined-looking rock, contrasted strangely with 
the snow-covered mountains. The Gulf of Yakutat, named " Bale 
de Monti " by La P6rouse, was re-christened " Admiralty Bay " by 
G. Dixon, who, entering it in 1787, was the first explorer of its 
shores, and anchored his vessel at Port Mulgrave, where an Indian 
village already existed with some seventy inhabitants. 

1 Vide Proceedings of ilie Royal Geograpliical Society, May, 1S87. 

47 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

A few years later, in 1 792, Spain despatched two ships, com- 
manded by the Italian captain Don Alejandro Malaspina, to seek 
the famous North-west Passage between the two oceans. On enter- 
ing Yakutat Bay, Malaspina discovered that it was prolonged inland 
by an arm in which he hoped to find the beginning of the desired 
channel. But the boats sent to explore it found the way barred by 
a cliff of ice at a short distance from the mouth. They named the 
inlet " Puerto del Desengano " (Disenchantment Bay), and the island 
in it " Haenke." Their observations fixed the height of St. Elias at 
65,076 " varas " (17,851 feet); its position at 60° 17' 35'' lat. N., and 
140° 52' ij" long. W. (Greenwich). On Malaspina's return to Spain, 
he fell into disgrace and was imprisoned, so that his discoveries 
remained unrecognised for many years. 

Another famous navigator mentioned in the history of Alaska 
is G. Vancouver, who, in the year 1794, explored Yakutat Bay and 
the neighbouring coasts with his vessels the Discovery and the 
Chatham. He gave the name of " Point Manby " to the headland 
bounding the western entrance to the bay. The plateau he de- 
scribed as bare ground strewn with stone, rising in a gentle and 
even slope to the spurs of lofty mountains dominated by St. Elias. 
He also noted that east of Yakutat Bay, in a creek towards the 
Pacific (Icy Bay), the coast seemed to consist of a vertical wall of ice. 

No other account of St. Elias and its precincts is to be found 
until 1852, the date of Tebenkoff's report, chiefly founded on in- 
formation obtained from Russian traders. Here the height of 
St. Elias is stated to be 17,000 feet, its position 61° 2' 6" lat. N., 
and 140' 4' long. W., at thirty miles from the sea. Tebenkoff 
states that in 1839 smoke was seen issuing from a crater on the 
south-east flank of the mountain, and that an eruption of fire and 
ashes took place in 1847, contemporaneously with an earthquake 
experienced at Sitka. The lowlands at the base of St. Elias are 
described as " tundras " covered with forests and pastures, and it 
is added that through fissures in the sandy soil you could see a 
substratum of ice. 

48 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Subsequently, these fables of fictitious eruptions being collected 
and repeated, though with every reserve as to their authenticity, by 
W. H. Dall, created the belief so long prevalent that Mount St. Elias 
was a volcano. This theory was apparently corroborated by the 
curious shape of the southern crest of the mountain, which is so curved 
as to form a great amphitheatre resembling a real crater. Successive 
explorations have proved that the St. Elias group shows no trace 
of volcanic action. But a curious phenomenon observed by Top- 
ham may perhaps explain why certain navigators thought they 
saw Mount St. Elias in eruption from the sea. 

Down one of the very steep gullies, about 300 feet deep, scor- 
ing the inner side of the so-called crater, there were perpetual falls 
of stones and detritus ; and these avalanches sent up lofty columns 
of dust which, caught by the wind, simulated whirls of smoke. 
Even Topham, on seeing this effect at a distance, believed at first 
that it proceeded from a volcano. Mr. Russell likewise noted that 
great clouds of dust were sent up by the falls of shale detritus on 
the south face of Mount Augusta. On other occasions similar 
causes have led to the same mistake. In 1741 a commissioner was 
sent from Turin to inspect a new volcano said to have broken out in 
the Savoy Alps, and which proved to be simply a landslip from the 
Rochers de Fyz, near Servoz (De Saussure). A similar landslip in 
the present century led to a rumour that the extinct volcano of 
Mount Ararat had burst into life again. When Mr. Freshfield 
was on Mont Blanc in 1867, he saw a cloud of dust caused by a 
landslip near the Little St. Bernard Pass, fifteen miles from the spot 
where he stood. This phenomenon lasted for several weeks, and no 
spectator at a distance could possibly recognise its real nature and 
cause. 

The next expedition to Alaska was that despatched in 1874 by 
the " United States Survey," directed by W. H. Dall and M. Baker, 
which gleaned a rich harvest of geographical and geological data, 
and much new information on the glacial phenomena of the region. 
It was this e.xpedition which first ascertained the real nature of the 

49 E 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

plateau interposed between the mountain chains and the sea, i.e., 
that it consisted of a huge glacier, — and named it the " IVIalaspina." 
Then, too, the Cook, Vancouver, and Malaspina peaks were identified 
and christened. The height of St. EHas was calculated at 19,600 
feet, with a probable miscalculation of 400 feet, more or less ; and 
the position was fixed as 60° 20' 45" lat. N., and 141" 00' 12" long. W. 

By this time Mount St. Elias had won a definite place on maps 
of Alaska, and it is astonishing that the exceptional characteristics of 
the country, with such lofty mountains and glaciers of such unusual 
extent, should not have immediately tempted more explorers to 
attack those virgin peaks and penetrate to the heart of the new 
region. Difficulty of access must have been the chief cause of this 
delay. There is no commercial motive to attract vessels to this 
zone of forests and ice-fields, where a small native population finds 
the barest subsistence and where communications with other parts 
of the continent are few and irregular. 

In the spring of 1S77, Mr. C. E. S. Wood being determined to 
attempt an excursion to St. Elias, found no means of proceeding 
beyond Sitka, save by an Indian canoe. This conveyed him to 
Cape Spencer, at the northern extremity of the archipelago ; but 
as the Indians were afraid to risk their little craft on the open sea, 
along an absolutely harbourless coast, his journey was suspended. 

The first real expedition for the purpose of making the ascent 
of St. Elias only dates from 1886, and was organized by Tke New 
York Times. It consisted of Messrs. F. Schwatka, W. Libbey, and 
an Englishman, Lieut. H. W. Seton-Karr. They made the passage 
to Yakutat in the Pinfa of the U.S. Navy. On July 17th, they 
sailed from the bay in Indian canoes, followed the Pacific coast to 
the mouth of the Yahtse River, south of St. Elias, and, at no 
little risk, effected a landing through the surf. 

They brought two white porters and four Indians. Keeping to 
the eastern side of the extensive delta of mud, stones, and sand, 
intersected by numberless branches of the Yahtse, they reached 
the point where the river issues by a great tunnel out of the glacier, 

50 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

and climbed to the edge of the frozen plateau, which is covered 
with a thick stratum of moraine detritus. 

The ice tunnel through which the river runs is about eight 
miles long, and ends at the foot of certain heights which the ex- 
plorers named " The Chaix Hills." The course of the tunnel is 
indicated by a depression in the surface overhead, caused by the 
junction of the lateral moraines of the two glaciers, which flow down 
to the coast on either side of the Yahtse. The glaciers themselves 
actually join overhead, forming the ice roof of the tunnel. The 
expedition gave the name of " Guyot " to the glacier on the west 
side of the Yahtse, and " Agassiz " to that on the east. The latter, 
however, is really the western extremity of the Malaspina Glacier. 

At the feet of the Chaix Hills, in the deep hollow dividing 
them from the Guyot and Agassiz glaciers, two swift torrents rush 
down, and, uniting their waters at the south end of the range, form a 
lake to which the explorers gave the name of " Caetani " in honour 
of Don Onorato Caetani, Duke of Sermoneta, at that time Presi- 
dent of the Italian Geographical Society.^ The river Yahtse issues 
from this lake only to plunge into the tunnel just described. When- 
ever this sub-glacial passage becomes choked with ice blocks and 
moraine material, Lake Caetani overflows, and then a good portion 
of the river makes its way towards the sea over the surface of the 
glacier. Once the passage cleared, the whole river again disappears 
beneath the ice ; while the lake shrinks and sometimes disappears 
altogether. 

The caravan first marched to the western end of the Chaix 
range ; then (having dwindled to three men, i.e., Schwatka, Seton- 
Karr, and one of the white porters) it crossed the Tyndall Glacier, 
which flows straight down the south-west flank of St. Elias, and 
gaining the chain of hills bounding the mountain to the west, began 
to ascend their slope. Schwatka came to a halt at about 5,800 

' In the account given by H. W. Seton-Karr, and in the map of this region pre- 
pared subsequently by H. W. Topham, by some mistake the word Casfani has been 
erroneously substituted for Caetani, a well-known name in Italy. 

51 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

feet. Seton-Karr proceeded alone, and reached the top of the 
ridge, at about 7,200 feet, but cloudy weather and the lateness of 
the hour compelled him to retreat. 

The enterprise was plainly impossible with the means at their 
disposal, and it was decided to return to the coast, sixteen miles 
awaj'. On the 30th July, after some abortive attempts, the little 
band succeeded in putting out to sea, but were obliged to leave their 
baggage behind. 

This expedition had taken fourteen days, and been favoured by 
exceptionally dry weather. The results obtained by it consisted of 
a sketch-map of the region and the first stock of reliable observa- 
tions on the nature of the country and the difficulties to be over- 
come in exploring it. 

Two years later the attempt was repeated by the English 
Alpinists, Messrs. W. H. and E. Topham, and G. Broke, together 
with Mr. \V. Williams, of New York. Sailing from Sitka on the 3rd 
of July, 18SS, in a small schooner, they reached Yakutat in seven 
days. Proceeding thence in Indian canoes, they landed on the 13th 
near the mouth of the Yahtse, about 55 miles east of Port Mulgrave, 
the very point where Schwatka had disembarked. The surf was not 
very high at the time, and the landing was made without trouble ; 
but fifteen hours later it would have been impossible. 

The explorers with their party, consisting of four white porters 
and six Indians, followed the same course taken by Schwatka as far 
as the Chaix Hills. Then bearing eastward, they climbed a glacier 
that girdles the base of the south-east wall of St. Elias at a level of 
1,500 to 2,000 feet, and pours into the Malaspina with an ice cascade 
a thousand feet high. This glacier they named after Libbey. A 
strino^ of low hills, connectinsf the Chaix rans^e with the southern 
face of St. Elias, separates it to the west from the Tyndall Glacier 
discovered by Schwatka. 

But the explorers soon perceived that it was impossible to 
make the ascent of the precipitous south-east flank, which rose to over 
16,000 feet, and was rendered unapproachable by masses of snow 



I 4 




■.ITW' J»-^' 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

and ice, which fell constantly in formidable avalanches, sweeping the 
rock wall from top to bottom. Accordingly, they went back to Lake 
Caetani, and followed the course taken by Schwatka as far as the 
western side of the Tyndall Glacier (Karr's Hills), which Seton-Karr 
had reached. Here Broke was obliged to halt, having broken his 
snow-spectacles. The others re-crossed the glacier, and camped at 
the foot of the south bastion of St. Elias, exactly beneath the point 
where the ridge curves round and forms the amphitheatre which was 
mistaken for a crater. After one failure, they managed to win the 
crest of the ridge. It was covered with thick snow, over which they 
proceeded, cutting steps in the steeper places. 

About 2 o'clock p.m. they reached the northern side of the 
amphitheatre, where the ridge ceases to bend and runs almost 
straight up to the summit. Their aneroid and "boiling-point" 
thermometer registered a height of 11,460 feet. Here the ridge 
rose in a very steep cliff 1,500 feet high, and almost entirely 
coated with blue ice, which would have required several hours 
of step-cutting. Beyond, at about 7,000 feet above this cliff, 
soared the summit, capped with snow, and bordered by a huge 
cornice. 

It was hopeless to think of winning the peak that day, and, very 
reluctantly, the explorers returned to their camp. The point of the 
ridge which they had reached, and which, when seen from below, 
appeared to be a separate peak dominating the amphitheatre to 
the north, was named by them " Hadon's Peak." 

The walls of this amphitheatre are almost vertical, composed of 
stratified rock, striated and furrowed by the continual falls of stones 
and detritus produced by the process of disintegration. The bottom 
of the hollow is filled by a glacier which flows out through an 
opening to the east. The whole extent of the south-west face of 
St. Elias was visible from the ridge, and seemed no less inaccessible 
than the south-east face. No rocks showed any trace of volcanic 
action. 

The expedition employed five days in regaining the coast, 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

and reached Yakutat, the loth of August, after nearly a month's 
absence. 

The time had come for scientific societies to reinforce private 
enterprise in the work of exploration. With the larger funds at 
their disposal they could afford to either assist or even to actually 
fit out expeditions on their own account for the purpose of 
surveying the country, and studying its interesting natural phe- 
nomena. 

In 1890, the United States' "National Geographical Society" 
and the " Geological Survey " united to send an expedition to the 
St. Elias region, under the direction of Professor J. C. Russell, a 
well-known writer on glacial geology, and one of the explorers of 
the Yukon basin. 

Mr. M. B. Kerr was to accompany him as topographer to the 
expedition. 

Professor Russell made the best use of the lessons learnt from 
the experiences of former explorers. His expedition was organized 
at Seattle. Supplies for three months were packed in hermetically 
sealed tins to prevent them from being spoiled by the excessive 
dampness of the climate, during the long journey over snow and ice. 
The light equipment, including tents, waterproofs, blankets, special 
petroleum stoves, and a good stock of fuel, would have enabled the 
expedition to spend many days at a high level, above the line of 
vegetation. It had been found that the Indians accompanying 
former expeditions, while very useful in the lowlands, were totally 
unfitted for mountain work. Accordingly, Professor Russell enlisted 
six American porters at Seattle, led by J. H. Christie. Finally, 
the expedition was supplied with the necessary instruments for 
topographical survey. 

The party started from Seattle on the i6th of June, and reached 
Port Mulgrave on the 27th, making the passage from Sitka to 
Yakutat on the U.S.A. Pinta. Early on the 2Sth they put 
to sea in canoes, skirting the east side of the bay between the 
islands and the shore, crossed the mouth of Disenchantment Bay 

54 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

on the I St of July, and landed at the north-west corner of Yakutat 
Bay, at the base of the eastern spurs of the Cook chain. Ahhough 
so far from the mouth of the bay, they found the beach Hned by 
white breakers, luckily not formidable enough to prevent landing in 
ordinary weather. Numerous icebergs, fragments of the glaciers 
which thrust their snouts into the waters of Disenchantment Bay, 
are caught by the wind and the currents, and driven in upon the 
beach at the head of Yakutat Bay. In great storms, the waves, 
rushing into the bay, lift the floating masses, and toss them far up on 
the shore. The clashing of the blocks of ice, as they collide, joined 
with the howlino- of the wind and the roar of the sea, creates an 
appalling tumult. 

After leaving this first camp, Russell took a westerly course, 
scaled the successive southern spurs of the Cook chain, and crossed 
the snouts of many confluents of the Malaspina Glacier, which flow 
down between these spurs. Here the ice was almost concealed 
under a stratum of moraine, consisting of detritus pebbles, together 
with boulders of every size. Many small lakes occur in these frontal 
moraines, and streams of water, which issue from ice caves and run 
in the open for some distance, before disappearing into other 
tunnels. 

Russell named these glaciers, going from east to west, the 
" Black," " Galiano," " Atrevida," " Lucia," " Hayden," and " Mar- 
vine." In the centre of the frontal moraine of the latter, a jutting 
spur forms an island covered with firs, which shelter a luxuriant 
vegetation gay with myriads of flowers. Russell christened this 
" Blossom Island," and fixed a base-camp there with a store of food, 
to be carried up later as required by detachments of porters. 

From the shore to " Blossom Island " was a thirty-one days' 
march. The porters had to make many journeys from one camping 
place to another to carry forward all the equipment. Meanwhile, 
Russell and Kerr had been occupied in geological investigations and 
topographical surveys, which often led them far out of their definite 
track. Everywhere Russell discovered evidence of the shrinkage of 

55 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

the glaciers ; ledges in the rock-walls of the various valleys indi- 
cating the height formerly reached by the ice-beds, some 700 to 800 
feet above their actual level. 

Marvine Glacier, at the foot of which stands Blossom Island, 
flows direct from the south face of Mount Cook, and is bounded to 
the west by a long spur that projects far into the Malaspina, bearing 
from north-east to south-west. This spur is cleft midway by a deep 
ravine. The southern half, thus quite separated, forms as it were a 
distinct chain, about eight miles long. Russell named this the 
" Hitchcock Range," and the cleft " Pinnacle Pass," on account 
of some sharp peaks which dominate it to the north. The pass is 
barely 200 to 300 feet wide, and is 4,000 feet above the sea. Two 
glaciers flow down from it : one, an affluent of the Marvine, steep 
and much crevassed, running east ; the other flowing westward at 
a gentler angle, and falling into a huge ice-stream of far larger 
dimensions than the rest of the Malaspina affluents, to which Russell 
gave the name of " Seward Glacier." 

The vanguard of the expedition crossed Pinnacle Pass on the 
5th August, after a night's halt on the Marvine Glacier, where they 
had been in serious danger from a fall of stones caused by a violent 
rain-storm. Bad weather, and the necessity of awaiting the arrival 
of stores from the lower camps, confined Russell and Kerr several 
days to the neighbourhood of the pass. They gave the name of 
" Mount Logan " to a mighty peak north of the Augusta chain ; and 
two peaks, rising on the northern branch of the Cook range, were 
called " Mount Owen " and " Mount Irving." Between August 
the 13th and i6th, Russell effected a passage from the "Seward" 
to the " Agassiz " Glacier by following a depression in the spur 
(Samovar Hills) dividing one from the other. The two snow-domes 
which crown this col won for it the name of Dome Pass (4,300 
feet). Here the explorers saw before them an open valley filled by 
a glacier that flows into the Agassiz in a great cascade of sdracs. 
After crossing this, they looked straight up to Mount St. Elias, with 
no intervening obstacles to impede the view, and the route to the 

56 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

summit seemed clearly traced. The valley they had entered was 
formed by two ridges of the mountain, and was shut in at the end by 
a wall which led to a spacious col between the cone of St. Elias on 
the south and a lower summit to the north. To the latter, and to the 
glacier filling the valley, Russell gave the name of Newton. The 
divide was connected with the peak of Mount St. Elias by a long 
ridge which seemed to offer a comparatively easy passage. But the 
Newton Glacier, furrowed with numerous wide crevasses and formid- 
able cascade-like sdracs, was prepared to oppose a fierce resistance to 
the desired conquest. On reaching the second cascade after several 
hours' struggle through that labyrinth of ice-blocks, and among 
enormous crevasses barring the way in every direction, they were 
compelled to take a very perilous route skirting the south wall of 
the valley, where avalanches of snow and ice fall down from the 
slopes above with great frequency. Half-way up the glacier, a spur 
projecting some distance across the valley presented an apparently 
insurmountable obstacle. After repeated attempts, they contrived 
to hitch a rope over the crag of a vertical cliff, and were thus enabled 
to climb to the second Newton plateau and haul up their packs. 

One more ice-fall alone separated them from the terminal wall 
mounting to the col, when bad weather joined with the difficulties 
of the glacier in checking the progress of the little band. During 
the whole of August 22nd and 23rd, it snowed incessantly, so that 
Russell and Kerr, who had started from the highest camp to 
attack the peak, were obliged to descend to the foot of the clift 
(Rope Cliff) to which they had fixed their cord. When the weather 
cleared, on the 25th, they resumed the attack, while the two men 
who had come up with them went down to fetch supplies from a 
lower camp. After several hours' march, Russell and Kerr dis- 
covered that they had very little petroleum left. This was a serious 
blow at a level where, without fuel, water was not to be obtained. 
Fire was needed also to enable them to warm themselves with hot 
tea or coffee and bake their raw flour. In this emergency, Russell 
decided to push on alone as far as the point whence the snow-storm 

57 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

had driven them, and to wait there while Kerr dashed down to catch 
up the porters and get the petroleum from them. As evening fell, 
Russell halted, tired out, rigged up his tent and went to sleep. 
During the night, it began to snow again, and continued for two 
days. The flakes fell thickly and continuously until the tent was 
half buried, the sides bending in beneath the heavy weight. Russell 
had no longer room to lie within, and was forced to hollow out a 
chamber in the snow. Having no petroleum, he contrived to make 
a feeble fire by means of a rag dipped in melted bacon. For six 
days he remained alone in the waste of snow ; then, as the weather 
had cleared and none of his comrades appeared, he went down 
the mountain to seek them, leaving his tent behind. After a few 
hours, he met the porters coming up, guided by Kerr. The blind- 
ing snowfall had detained the latter at Rope Cliff during three 
whole days, with neither shelter nor fuel, and, for the last thirty 
hours, no food save raw flour. The men only joined him on the 
29th of August. 

There was nothing for it but to bow to fate. In spite of 
Russell's tenacious and often rash courage, there was no longer any 
hope of conquering the peak. The weather being almost con- 
tinuously bad, the newly fallen snow remained so soft that getting 
through it was very slow and exhausting work. Waterproofs were 
an insufficient protection from the damp, and both clothes and 
blankets had been soaked through for days. The transport of 
supplies was also becoming very difficult. Besides, the glare of the 
snow had affected the eyes of most of the party, and in spite of 
their smoked spectacles, they could hardly endure the light. 

The return journey began on the ist of September. Kerr, who 
was broken down by the days and nights he had spent without 
shelter in the snow, went straight back to the coast. Russell, how- 
ever, made one more excursion up the Seward Glacier to the north- 
west spur of Mount Owen, and another from Blossom Island, some 
miles' distance on the Malaspina, for the purpose of studying its 
glacial phenomena. The rain was almost incessant during his whole 

58 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

descent. He reached the shore on the 15th of September. On the 
23rd he embarked in the Coriuin, sent expressly to convey the 
expedition back to the United States. 

The interest roused by Russell's scientific report on the region 
he had inspected was so great that the " Geographical Society " 
and the " Geological Survey " decided to despatch him thither 
again in the following year, in order that he might collect addi- 
tional scientific data, extend his field of exploration, and renew 
the attack on Mount St. Elias. 

Accordingly, on the 4th of June, 1S91, Russell and six white 
porters put in to Yakutat on the U.S.A. Bear. This time he 
resolved to follow the example of Messrs. Schwatka and Topham, 
by landing at a point of the coast nearer Mount St. Elias by 
the mouth of the Yahtse River. But while disembarking, a heavy 
disaster occurred. Either the surf was stronger than usual, or 
the Bear's boats were less fitted for landing than light Indian 
canoes. Be it as it may, the first two boats were capsized 
by the breakers, and. six of the party drowned. One of Mr. 
Russell's porters was among the victims. On the following day 
the attempt was renewed, and this time with success. Russell 
went on shore on the 8th of June. 

By the 10th all the baggage had been carried to the edge 
of the Malaspina moraine. This was covered by so dense a 
forest that they were forced to work with hatchets for a whole 
day to cut a passage. By the 20th of June everything had 
been conveyed across the moraine to the brink of the bare ice. 
During the work of transport, Russell spent several days on the 
Chaix Hills, studying their geological formation and building a 
sledge to facilitate the porterage of stores over the snow. Then 
pushing on to the e.xtreme south-west corner of the Samovar 
Hills (July 12th), he re-ascended the Agassiz Glacier to the foot 
of the ice-cascade which terminates the Newton Glacier. This 
he had reached the preceding year in coming down from the 
Dome Pass. 

59 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

He was familiar with the route beyond this point up the 
Newton Valley, and aware of the difficulties to be encountered. 
Climbing all the ice-cascades in succession, and crossing the in- 
tervening plateaux, he came to the foot of the last cascade, 
where he had on the previous occasion passed those six days of 
solitary confinement, in danger of being buried under the snow. 
This last difficulty also overcome, he reached the upper amphi- 
theatre of the glacier by the 20th of July, and planted his 




MOUNT ST. ELIAS FROM I.IBBEY GLACIER. 
(From a Photo ly J. C. Russell^) 



upper camp there at the height of a little over 8, 000 feet. It 
had taken him eight days to attain to this level from the foot of 
Agassiz Glacier, and almost six weeks from the coast. 

He and his two porters stayed twelve days at this camp, 
with almost continual bad weather, so that he had only one 
opportunity, on the 34th of August, of attempting the ascent. 
Starting with his men at 2 o'clock a.m. (24th August), he 
made for the head of the valley, where it is barred by an ice-wall 
rising to the divide between Mount St. Elias and Mount Newton. 

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< 



a. 



< 



CO 



H 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

This ascent was so steep that steps had to be cut nearly the 
whole way up, while great transversal crevasses added much to 
the difficulty of the climb. At some parts of the ascent, they 
had to pass under overhanging masses of ice threatening them 
with avalanches. Finally, at midday, the party landed safely on 
the col. After a short rest, they attacked the broad ridge that 
runs thence straight up to the summit of Mount St. Elias. But 
soon they grew tired. It was rather late in the afternoon, and 
the peak still soared high above them, although they had already 
climbed a great distance from the camp. To be overtaken by 
nightfall without any shelter at such an altitude would have in- 
volved too serious a risk, the more so as slight vapours begin- 
ning to cloud the hitherto perfectly clear sky, threatened a 
change in the weather. So, with the deepest reluctance, Rus- 
sell was obliged to give up all hope of completing the ascent 
that day. It was 4 o'clock p.m., and the expedition had 
reached the height of 14,500 feet. Night had already fallen 
when they got down to their tent in a very wearied condition. 

The presage of evil weather was fulfilled on the following 
day. Russell had planned to carry the tent and the supplies to 
the divide, being convinced of the impossibility of covering in 
one day with the force at his disposal, and without intervals of 
rest, the distance from the base-plateau to the top. The weather 
having slightly improved on the 28th, the party started off again, 
laden with supplies, in order to establish their station on the 
col. But newly fallen snow had formed a heavy layer on the 
steep sides of the amphitheatre, and this was now breaking into 
innumerable avalanches, which swept down to the valley with 
irresistible force. There was danger on all sides, from the pre- 
cipices of Mount St. Elias and Mount Newton, and even from 
the col to which the party was ascending. Russell felt that it 
would be too great a risk to proceed, and so returned to the 
camp, where dense snow-falls during the ensuing days finally 
destroyed every hope of success. 

61 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

On the I St of August retreat was decided upon. The only 
digression from the downward route was a short excursion made 
to the Libbey Glacier and the cliffs connecting the Chaix Hills 
with the south front of Mount St. Elias. By the loth the ex- 
pedition had reached the shore of Icy Bay, where it had landed 
two months earlier. Russell stayed there a week for the purpose 
of measuring by triangulation the heights of the chief summits 
of the group. 

The altitude of Mount St. Elias was calculated at 18,100 
feet, with a possible error of 100 feet more or less. The ex- 
pedition resumed its march on the 19th of August along the 
Pacific coast, in the direction of Yakutat Bay, sometimes over 
the pebbly beach, at other times through dense undergrowth in 
the woods, often fording torrents where the icy water was more 
than waist-high, and occasionally marching in the open over the 
moraine that covers the whole front of the Malaspina Glacier. 
Reaching Cape Manby on the 27th, the explorers turned off from 
the Pacific coast to follow the west shore of Yakutat Bay, and 
at last, on the ist September, reached the head of the gulf, 
which had been the starting-point of their expedition in the 
preceding year. 

Here Russell found an Indian canoe with a deposit of food 
supplied by the missionary of Yakutat, Rev. Hendriksen. He 
was thus enabled to make a thorough exploration of Disenchant- 
ment Bay, into which no previous traveller had penetrated to any 
great distance. He discovered that it winds a long way inland 
among the mountains, forming two sharp angles in turning from 
west to east, and from north to south. Three great glaciers flow 
down into it — the Dalton, Hubbard, and Nunatak glaciers. In 
Malaspina's time (1792), these glaciers entirely choked the east 
arm of the bay, and extended to the island of Haenke. To the 
south the bay lengthens into a fiord, penetrating into a large 
valley also formerly filled with ice from a glacier that flowed 
southwards, and which probably formed a great ice-sheet, similar 

62 



THE HISTORY OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

to Malaspina Glacier on the plateau overhanging the east coast 
of Yakutat Bay. On the 15th of September Russell re-entered 
the village of Yakutat, and on the ist of October he steamed 
out of the bay on the U.S.A. Pinta, and reached Seattle on 
the 2ist, after nearly five months' absence. 

In this brief summary of the two expeditions which have so 
largely contributed to the world's knowledge regarding the Mount 
St. Elias region, I have scarcely touched upon Mr. Russell's 
geological discoveries, or his observations on glacial phenomena. 
They are to be found in full in the published reports of the 
"Geographical Society" and the "Geological Survey." In de- 
scribing the course taken by H.R.H.'s expedition, I shall have 
frequent occasion to refer to those works. 

Meanwhile, the foregoing historical sketch will suffice, I think, 
to furnish a general idea of the character of the region to which 
we were bound, and the nature of the task we were about to 
accomplish, under the guidance of our chief, H.R.H. the Duke of 
the Abruzzi. 



63 



CHAPTER V 
The Malaspina Glacier 



A 



T 2 o'clock a.m. on the 23rd June, 

the Bertha steamed from Port 

Mulgrave with the schooner Aggie in 

tow. Warned hy the experiences of 

our predecessors as to the difficulty of 

landing on the Pacific coast, and 

•^^^ . ^^ - _^^ more especially by the catastrophe 

^ I ^^ fc***' Jr that had saddened Russell's second 

■^*'* expedition at the start, together 

with the uncertainty as to the state 

of sea and surf on the southern 

shore, H.R.H. decided to disembark on the west coast of Yakutat 

Bay, in spite of its being several miles farther from St. Elias than 

the landing-place on the Pacific' 

We were to land a few miles north of Cape Manby, by the 
mouth of the glacial torrent Osar, near the mouth of the bay. 
From that point H.R.H. hoped to find a tolerably easy track up 
to the Malaspina plateau, and thence to cross the great glacier 
rapidly, conveying all the camp material and a sufiicient supply of 
food on the four sledges comprised in our equipment. Previous 

1 H.R.H. had hoped, at first, to be able to land on the southern shore of the 
plateau at a point where the force of the breakers was broken by a sheltering sand- 
bank, marked on the chart of the U.S. Coast Survey (North-West Coast of America, 
Sheet No. 2) as lying off the coast opposite the mouth of a small creek due east of 
Icy Cape. But we ascertained at Yakutat that no such sand-bank existed, and that 
the coast is unsheltered throughout its length. 

64 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

explorers had always tried to land as near as possible to the spurs 
of the mountain, in order to avoid camping on the open glacier, and 
continue to make use of the fuel ready to hand on the thickly 
wooded lower slopes as long as possible. But what with prolonged 
marches over the loose, sharp-edged stones of the moraine, and 
considerable waste of time and strength involved in going to and 
fro to carry up heavy loads of supplies, they had paid a heavy 
price for these advantages. 

Mr. H. S. Bryant, of Philadelphia, with a party of seven men, 




WEST COAST OF YAKUTAT BAY. 



had landed ten days before us at the same point for which we were 
bound, also with the purpose of attempting the ascent of Mount 
St. Elias. At Yakutat we had taken on board one of the Indians 
who had crossed the bay with Mr. Bryant, thinking he might be 
of use in identifying the landing-place. 

We were barely one hour from port when the Bertha was 
stopped in the middle of the bay by a thick fog. So we passed the 
whole morning fuming at the delay. Finally, about 2 o'clock 
p.m., the air cleared a little and allowed us a glimpse of the 
Malaspina coast line a few miles off. Straight before us lay a low 

65 F 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

beach, white with breakers, and backed by the dark rampart of the 
Malaspina moraine, some 300 feet in height and flecked with snow. 
Farther inland, under a thick bank of fog, we could distinguish 
the lower portion of the Cook chain, with great glaciers, tributaries 
of the Malaspina, filling all its ravines. Very gradually we ap- 
proached the shore, searching for a landing-place. The Indian, 
who was to have acted as pilot, remained stupidly inert, and gave 
no sign of recognising the coast. 

At 3.30 Lieutenant Cagni went off in a boat to examine the 
beach, and presently returned with bad news. At 600 feet from the 




WEST COAST OF YAKUTAT BAY AND MALASPINA MORAINE. 

shore he touched bottom with his oars, while a line of dangerous 
surf cut him off from land. Meanwhile we had ascertained that the 
current caused by the high tide had driven us into the bay during 
the early morning, and that we must now steer south to make 
Point Manby. So we steamed on, sounding continually. Scattered 
trees now appeared on the low coast stretching between the base of 
the moraine and the sea, and soon increased to dense forests near 
Point Manby. At 5 o'clock we finally discern the mouth of the 
Osar, framed by thick pine forests. Cagni again puts off in the 
boat, and presently signals that he has found a landing. Here we 
obtain our first glimpse of Mount St. Elias, distant, shadowy, and 

66 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

magnified to proportions so gigantic by the mist that we look 
up at it with astonishment mingled with awe. The boats imme- 
diately put out from the schooner, and with these and a large 
boat, kindly lent us with her crew by the captain of the Bertha, 
our cases of stores are rapidly landed. The first crew ashore 
stand waist-deep in water, ready to haul up each boat as it rides 
in on the crest of the surf, and so the landing is accomplished 




lALL GRASSES O.N THE BEACH. 



without accident, and all the baggage arrives safe and dry. H.R. H. 
leaves the schooner about 8 p.m., and comes on shore by the last 
boat. 

The Bertha now left us for Disenchantment Bay, whence Mr. 
Hendriksen, who came on board at Yakutat, had promised to send 
us some Indian hunters to help in carrying our stores to the frozen 
plateau. The Aggie meantime sailed for Port Mulgrave, where she 
was to remain in harbour during our absence, with orders to return 
to our landing-place by the loth of August. In case of further 

67 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

instructions being needed, H.R.H. had requested Mr. Hendriksen 
to send a few Indians every five days to the mouth of the Osar, 
from the end of July onward. 

In two hours" time the whole of our equipment is piled in the 
lee of a grass-grown sandhill some fifty feet in height, out of reach 
of the tide, and sheltered from sudden gusts of wind. We pitch our 
first camp on a little spit of sand, by a tributary of the Osar. All 
the stores and munitions are heaped about us in the utmost dis- 
order : cases of provisions, photographic machines, medicine chests, 
knapsack frames, snow-shoes, sledge-runners, cooking-stoves, bags 
of clothing, ropes, hatchets, and a hundred miscellaneous articles. 
While our soup is being prepared over a gipsy fire, we strive to 
reduce the general chaos to some kind of order, stow away under 
mackintosh everything that needs protection from rain, and so on, 
and then about midnight seek rest in our tents. 

Early the next morning (June 24th) H.R.H. left camp attended 
by Gonella and the guide Petigax, to prospect a route to the 
moraine. Meanwhile we set to work re-arranging the whole of our 
equipment. Pitching a tent in a sheltered part of the forest, we 
pack it with the reserve stores which are to be left behind — part of 
the photographic, scientific, and medical apparatus, some weapons, 
and a store of provisions in case bad weather should retard our 
embarcation on returning from the mountains. Accordingly, all 
the cases had to be opened, their contents sorted, divided, and 
registered. Next, the first loads had to be packed ready for the 
porters to carry to the foot of the moraine by whatever track 
H.R.H. should decide to take. 

We were assisted in this work by the American porters, whom 
we had hardly seen before, as they had travelled with our guides 
on board the Aggie. Their Major Ingraham — a tall, lean man, about 
forty years of age, of robust constitution, and great force of character, 
who was in charge of them — proved of the utmost service to the ex- 
pedition. Indeed, his active and intelligent efforts, together with the 
hearty co-operation of his chosen band, had no small share in its 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

success. These ten sturdy fellows formed a queer group, such as 
could scarcely have been got together in any other country. 

Four of them were University students ; four were sailors, one 
of whom was a Swede, another an Italian, one gold-digger, and one 
poet, German by birth, who had earned his bread by teaching clas- 
sics and then become a sailor. Their names were : C. L. Andrews, 




CAMl' O.N THE WliS r COAST OF YAKT'lAr IIAV. 



Alexander Beno, F. Fiorini, Carl E. Morford, Ralph E. Nichols, 
Elin Ostberg, V. Schmid, W. Steele, and C. W. Thornton. 

H.R. H. returned to camp about i o'clock p.m., and the guides 
and porters immediately set off with the first loads, while we 
finished our arrangements amid violent explosions of wrath against 
the swarms of voracious mosquitoes which had tormented us inces- 
sandy from the moment we landed. All sorts of ointments were 
tried in vain ; neither nets nor veils could save us from their stingfs ; 
the pertinacious insects penetrated our clothes, up our sleeves, 

69 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

down our necks, and completely exhausted our patience. No 
wonder that writers on Alaska describe them as the scourges of the 
land ! Instances are given of travellers being killed by them, 
poisoned by thousands of stings, worn out by frantic struggles with 
the invincible foe; of deer leaping into rivers to escape the mosquito 
torture (Petrofif) ; whilst it is asserted that bears have been known 
to scratch themselves to death, maddened with pain. Even the 
Indians suffer from the stings, although they get some protection by 
smearing themselves all over with rancid oil. 




SlKAWBliKKlKb IN HJJULK, M-.AK IIIL HKSI LA.Ml'. 

A surveying signal is set up on the sand-hill behind the camp ; 
just opposite, across the little torrent running near our tents, stands 
a wooden hut, used as a refuge by Indian hunters. The edge of 
the forest is only a few yards from our encampment, beyond a slip 
of pasture where strawberries and dwarf raspberries are in bloom, 
half concealed by tall grasses and weeds. A heavy blanket of foo- 
hangs over us all day, but, fortunately, there is no rain. Cagni has 
arranged his meteorological instruments between two tents, and has 
begun a series of observations, while Sella has pitched his dark 
tent in order to change his photographic plates. Evening closes 

70 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 



in very slowly. The porters, back from their first trip, are singing 
songs round the fire, in the soft tvvih'ght that lasts far into the night. 
The deep stillness about us is only broken by the sharp cry of 
a stray gull or seafowl. The temperature is mild, almost always 
about 47-50° Fahrenheit. 

Early next morning, four Indian porters arrived, sent by Hen- 
driksen, and with their 
help a good part of the 
camp material was carried 
up to the base of the 
moraine during the day. 
Crossing the tributary of 
the Osar on a trunk bridge 
made by our men, we 
followed the right bank 
of the river, sometimes 
tramping through the sand 
and small shingrle of its 
wide bed, sometimes skirt- 
ing the edge of the forest, 
among huge fallen trees, 
thick brush, rich beds of 
fern under the firs, and 
over an elastic carpet of 
pine - needles and moss 
starred with bright- 
coloured flowers. 

The Osar is one of the many streams issuing from the Mala- 
spina channel, seaming the belt of land between the glacier and the 
sea, depositing great masses of glacial detritus by the way, and 
sometimes burying in their delta whole tracts of forest. Most of 
the larger streams come down from the south flank of the plateau, 
and pour into the Pacific so great a volume of muddy water that 
the sea is discoloured for several miles' distance from the shore, 

71 




THE OSAR STREAM. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

and at more than a mile out the surface of the ocean consists of 
fresh water. The biggest of these rivers is the Yahtse, whose delta 
has now completely filled up a bay that existed in Ivlalaspina's and 
Vancouver's time (Icy Bay), and of which the record is preserved 
in a legend of the Yakutat Indians. 

These rivers issue from the glacier either in a single body of 
water, or in several branches, some gushing out at the base of the 
bastion formed by the moraine, others from the ice-wall itself, at 
different heights, dashing down from ice caves in grand cascades. 
Occasionally, after running through a long series of underground 
passages from the upper valleys to the coast, these torrents are 
forced to the surface at such high pressure that they shoot upwards 
like colossal fountains with huge columns of spray. Whatever their 
origin, they generally divide into numerous branches between the 
moraine and the sea, and after intersecting the forest in every 
direction, unite in one or more great streams before reaching the 
sea. Fortunately for us, the Osar comes down from the moraine 
almost undivided, and so we are spared the trouble of fording icy 
floods often of very difficult passage from the strength and depth of 
the current. Foreseeing obstacles of this nature, we were provided 
with india-rubber trousers coming up above the waist, and joined 
to high waterproof wading boots. But these were only brought 
into use on the preliminary march by H.R. H. and his party in 
crossing the river to explore the left bank, where they found traces 
of Bryant's first camp. 

It is difficult to give an adequate idea of the luxuriant vegeta- 
tion covering the narrow strip of land between the beach and the 
moraine. The forest begins at a few yards from the sea, edged by 
groves of undersized trees — such as alder, ash, small firs, dwarf 
poplars, and a few willows. The rank grass all about is a perfect 
carpet of (lowers, interspersed with flourishing plots of strawberries 
and raspberries {Rubiis articus). But just beyond the fringe of 
scattered greenery, we come to the real forest. Here the branches 
of mighty firs, draped with moss and lichen, meet overhead in so 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

thickly tangled a canopy that hardly one ray of sunlight pierces 
through it. Underneath, the air is that of a damp hot-house, and 
all the intervening space is filled with innumerable varieties of 
shrubs; ferns, six to eight feet high {Aspleniniu), fungi, and myriads 
of flowers jewelling the soft, spongy layer of mosses and lichens that 
carpets the whole forest-floor. 

It is too early in the season for fruits and berries ; everything 




OSAR STREAM AND FOREST. 



is in full blossom : currant and gooseberry bushes, and a tall plant 
like celery {^Archangelica), with towering white flowers, of which the 
Indians eat the leaves ; and here and there the humble whortleberry 
( Vaccimuii macrocarpum), as yet without berries. The devil's-club 
[Panax Jioj-riditni) is a formidable, prickly plant, whose wide, flat 
leaves are thickly set with thorns, and whose stems crawl on the 
ground for a bit and then shoot up to a height of ten to fifteen feet. 
It is easy to stumble over these creepers, and get painfully scratched 
by the fall. Low branches and prostrate trunks make the forest 

73 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

impenetrable except by slow hard labour with the axe. Hawks, 
ravens, magpies, flights of wild geese, ducks, gulls, and small birds 
add a note of cheerfulness, and complete the picture of luxuriant 
life. 

Our march followed the curves of the Osar in a north-westerly 
direction. The ascent from the beach to the moraine — about three 
miles' distance — is very slight, hardly rising 150 feet. On the river 
sand and at the foot of the moraine we found many large bear-tracks ; 
but we were too numerous and noisy to have a chance of surprising 
this big game. There are, at least, two varieties here — the brown 
and the silver bear, also known as the St. Elias bear. The latter is 
of enormous size. Mr. Russell saw two as big as polar bears, with 
footmarks 9 to 17 inches in width and a length of stride of no less 
than 64 inches. 

At the point where we emerged from the forest, it ends abruptly 
some thirty feet from the moraine ; but in many places — particularly 
on the south flank of the plateau — it has gradually pushed up into 
it, invading wide areas with firs and alders, which find nourishment 
in the layer of soil, detritus and moraine dc'bns covering the ice, 
which is sometimes more than a thousand feet in depth. 

Our second camp is pitched on the bank of a small torrent^ — 
one of the sources of the Osar — running through the boundary of 
forest and moraine. Here the landscape offers contrasts scarcely 
to be seen elsewhere. The forest stretched before us in masses of 
sombre verdure, while behind us the moraine — a vision of barren- 
ness and desolation — sloped upwards with its undulating waste 
of stones, mud, and sand, seamed by innumerable water-courses 
which have worn their way down the bed of ice. Over this, all our 
stores and material must be carried, up to the edge of the open 
glacier, which showed its white fringe of snow at a distance of 
about four miles, and some 300 feet above the camp. This stage 
proved longer and more fatiguing than the first march ; and as 
it was impossible to cover the whole distance twice in the day, we 
1 We found many trout in the waters of this torrent. 
74 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

arranged to go daily once to the glacier, once back to camp, and 
once to a half-way point where we left our loads to be carried up 
the rest of the way on the following morning. 

H.R. H. and the whole caravan started from camp every 
morning, leaving only one or two persons behind to attend to the 
camp and prepare our food. The loads were proportioned to our 
strength, ranging from 20 to 50 lbs. in weight for ourselves, from 45 
to 55 lbs. for the guides and porters. The loads were strapped on 
light wooden frames, which distribute the weight evenly on shoulders 
and back, leaving the chest and breathing free, and on which pack- 
ages of any shape can be easily fitted and balanced. The Indians, 
although undersized, carried heavier weights than our men could 
manage — i.e., from 60 to 68 lbs. — without a word of complaint. They 
did not use the frames, but preferred to fasten the loads on their 
backs by means of two straps coming over the shoulders and crossed 
over the chest, a system that compelled them to walk In a stooping 
posture. They were shod with moccasins of undressed sealskin, 
with the fur inside, unfitted for tramping over this waste of sharp- 
edged stones, which bruised our own feet in spite of our heavy 
boots. 

The moraine began just behind the camp and sloped gently up 
to the frozen plateau, forming wide hollows and high ridges, at a 
right angle to the line of the glacier. The layers of stones and 
detritus are very unequally distributed. At some points they are so 
thin that the ice beneath shows through ; at others they cover it 
thickly with boulders and splinters of rock In jumbled heaps. Big 
stones, three feet and more In diameter are generally found lying at 
the base of steep ridges, others being poised on the top, ready to 
fall with the melting of the ice they rest upon. In the wide hollows 
between the ridges, the surface of the moraine Is very uneven. 
There are numerous small lakes, almost circular, either without any 
outlet or else traversed by torrents, and varying In size from mere 
'pools to stretches of water exceeding 300 feet in diameter. Some 
lie on the surface of the moraine, others at different depths beneath, 

75 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



and these latter occupy funnel-shaped cavities with banks 60 to 70 
feet high. The water is dark and turbid, owing to the sand, mud, 
and stones continually frilling from the slopes above. Torrents 
loaded with sediment pour from ice tunnels, churning the pebbles 
beneath in their downward rush, sometimes disappearing again in 
the depths of some fissure before finally bursting forth from the 
moraine. 

The slopes being perpetually, if slowly, modified by the melting 
of the ice and the glacier's rate of motion, the torrents often change 
their course, forming new channels, while their old beds may be 

traced by the rounded 
pebbles, which contrast 
with the sharp-cornered 
stones peculiar to the 
moraine. 

New lakes are formed 
and old ones emptied, by 
the creation of fresh out- 
lets, or the opening of 
new C7rvasses in the ice 
beneath, leaving the fine 
sand of the bed exposed 
to view. Thus, the entire surface of the moraine is continually 
shifting and changing, moving and turning over the masses of 
stone, breaking them into ever smaller fragments, and finally crush- 
ing them into fine sand and mud. During the hot hours of the 
day, when the ice melts most rapidly, you hear the continual crash 
of falling stones, and the whizzing sound of detritus sliding on icy 
slopes, mingled with the murmur of torrents, the dash of cascades, 
and the muffled reports caused by the crackino- of the ice. 

In our first marches over the moraine we often went through 
the surface to our knees or higher in the dense mud, which in places 
covers whole tracts of ice, or again forms actual mud-torrents which 
are not to be detected at once, as they are of the same colour as the 

76 




TORRENT ISSUING I-'RO.M AN ICE-CAVE IN THE 
MALASPINA MORAINE. 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

moraine, and are studded with big boulders which float on the viscid 
surface. 

Every part of this stony desert presents the same characteristics. 
Its general aspect, indeed, is so uniform that it is not easy to follow 
the same track twice. Only after repeated journeys over the 
moraine were we able to recognise this or that big rock, and use it as 
a landmark. We were following the general line of the grreater 
ridges in a north-westerly direction. Between their extremities and 
the glacier itself lay a depression, beyond which a final slope of 
moraine led up to the frozen plateau. To this we climbed by a gully 
filled with snow, and deposited our loads on a small platform of ice 
covered by a thin layer of stones, close to the edge of the snow 
overlapping the glacier. 

The whole front of the Malaspina, along the Pacific coast and 
Yakutat Bay — about So miles in extent — is girdled by a belt of 
moraine 4 to 6 miles wide, and everywhere of the same general 
character as that wliich we have described. Nevertheless, the 
southern edge of the glacier does not finish in an easy slope, as on 
the edge facing the bay, but ends suddenly in a steep cliff some 
150 to 300 feet high. 

During these first days of hard labour, we were favoured by the 
weather ; for although the early mornings were usually so foggy as 
to shut off the view in every direction, the afternoon hours were 
warm and sunny. Our evenings in camp were enchanting after the 
long day's toil up and down the moraine. Including the Indian 
porters, we form a party of twenty-five, and our camp is very lively. 
Our ten tents are pitched near together in groups of three or four, 
and all our different tasks are carried on outside them. There is 
a cross-fire of shouts and orders to the men ; regular strokes of the 
axe resound from the neighbouring forest, where a guide is cutting 
wood, now and then accompanied by the melancholy cry of a small 
bird (the Zonotrichia coronata, Pallas), which has three distinct notes 
with a curious rhythm. Some of the men are attending to the fires, 
others cooking, hanging out the wash, mending clothes, or putting 

77 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

things in order, while a few lie stretched on the ground enjoying a 
quiet chat. 

Our four Indians, small, thick-set men, are so exactly alike that 
they seem turned out of the same mould. The development of arms 
and chests is exaggerated in comparison with the rest of the body, 
owing to the constant work at the oars entailed by their life on the 
water. 

They either sit together in a separate group, patching their 
moccasins, or loaf round the camp with contented, smiling faces, peep- 
ing inquisitively into the tents and speaking incomprehensible words 
to us in their guttural tongue, full of /'s and /C-'s. One of them, how- 
ever, knows a little English, and acts as interpreter to the rest. 
Their language has lost nearly all its special characteristics. Owing 
to frequent contact with French and Russian travellers, sailors, 
trappers, and whalers, these Indians speak a jargon known as 
"Chinook," now common to all the aborigines of the region and 
long used as the languasfe of commerce on the coast of British 
Columbia, Oregon, and Washington State.^ 

The constant substitution of / for r and of / for e gives the 
dialect a certain infantile stamp. 

One honourable trait of the Indians' character is honesty. 
They steal nothing — not even food ; and this verdict is confirmed 
by every one who has employed them. All expeditions, such as 
our own, have had to leave stores of provisions, tents, etc., in spots 
easily to be discovered by the Indians; yet these caches are 
always found undisturbed and with no single article missing. 

By the evening of the 29th June, the whole of our baggage had 
been carried up to the edge of the plateau, about 500 feet above sea- 
level. Six days' work had been required for this portage from the 
shore. 

The weather was cloud)-, and the misty atmosphere seemed to 

' F. N. Hibben & Co., of Victoria, have published a vocabulary of this jargon, 
entitled Dictionary of t/ie Chinooii Jargon or Indian Trade Language of the Avrtk 
Pacific Coast. 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

increase the vastness of the dead-white level stretching away to the 
horizon in front ot us. The temperature was almost down to 32". 
We cleared a patch of ground of its biggest boulders, pitched our 
tents on the layer of detritus covering the ice, and, as it was im- 
possible to plant the poles in the hard ice, we made the ropes fast 
round the biggest rocks at hand. 

This was our first camp without a fire. Our soup was cooked 
by the petroleum stoves. The Indians now left us. H.R.H. had 
commissioned them to fetch another ten days' supply of food from 




CAMP ON THE SUMMIT OF THE MORAINE. 



the depot left on the shore, in order that the caravans told off to 
supply our successive camps might be spared the necessity of going 
down to the sea. 

We were at the east side of the plateau, on the part of the main 
glacier discovered in 1874 by the hydrographic expedition under 
Messrs. Dall and Baker, and to which they had given the name of 
Malaspina. Later on, Russell embraced both the Agassiz and 
Guyot Glaciers, discovered by the Schwatka expedition, under this 
name. The latter names he previously applied exclusively to 
tributaries from the St. Elias and Cook chains. 

According to Mr. Russell's view, the Malaspina belongs to a 

79 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

class of glaciers designated by liim " Piedmont " glaciers, to be dis- 
tinguished from the "Alpine" type, consisting of affluents flowing 
down into valleys. 

Delineated in this fashion, the Malaspina is divided into three 
wide lobes, which are merely the widened snouts of the great glaciers 
which flow down to the plateau from the mountains. The eastern 
division, chiefly fed by the Seward Glacier, has a general movement 
from west to east, and, at one point, pushes down to the Pacific 
Ocean, the edge of its frontal moraine dipping into the sea for 
an extent of four miles along the coast. The central portion is 
chiefly fed by the Agassiz Glacier. It flows south-west, and is 




AT THE F.DGE OF THE MALASITNA GLACIER. 



bounded throughout its course by forest and moraine. Lastly, the 
western lobe, formed by the spreading of the Tyndall and Guyot 
Glaciers, runs southwards, thrusting out into the ocean a sheer cliff 
of ice 300 feet in height, known as Icy Cape. Huge fragments 
of ice are almost perpetually breaking off and falling into the 
sea with thunderous reports which are heard twenty miles away. 
Two great moraines start from the extremity of the Samovar Hills, 
and run into the frontal moraine between the lobes of the Malaspina. 
This frozen plateau is of such enormous extent that figures 
almost fail to give an exact idea of its dimensions. It stretches 
from Yakutat Bay for more than 70 miles to the east, measures 
from 20 to 25 miles in width, and its surface extends over 

80 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

more than 1,500 square miles. Mr. Russell has proved that the 
plateau on which the glacier rests owes its formation to two causes : 
first, to the enormous quantity of sediment deposited by the water 
beneath the glacier and at its front ; secondly, to the gradual rise 
in the elevation of the whole of this region, shared by the coast. 
In this way the size of the plateau is continually on the increase, so 
that the bay which still existed to the east of Icy Cape a hundred 
years ago is now reduced to an insignificant cove. 

Various indications led Mr. Russell to conclude that the 
Malaspina Glacier is gradually shrinking. He infers this from 
the immobility of the margins, which are overgrown with vegetation, 
and from the presence of large tracks of long-abandoned moraine 
deposits in the thick forest. The uniform distribution of these 
deposits over the soil proves that the process of shrinkage has been 
very slow and gradual. Besides, the east rim of the glacier, towards 
Yakutat Bay, gets thinner and thinner as it nears the edge in a 
gentle slope covered with a uniform layer of moraine, characteristics 
quite opposed to those observed in the fronts of growing glaciers. 

Mr. Russell records the disappearance of two capes formerly 
existing on the Pacific coast (Cape Riou and Cape Sitkagi), formed 
by the advance of the glacier into the ocean. This change, 
however, may have been partly brought about by the growth 
of the plateau and the disappearance of certain inlets of the 
coast, which has consequently become rectilinear. There has 
been a recent advance of the glacier at two points : near the 
Chaix Hills and in the vicinity of Point Manby, where the ice 
has travelled about 1,500 feet into the forest, and uprooted a 
great many trees. These forward movements may have been 
produced by variations of declivity, caused by upheaval of the soil, 
which have altered the conditions of the glacier's downward flow. 
Possibly, at other points, the same reason may have caused the 
edge of the glacier to remain stationary, or even to shrink. 

The glacier before us was, apparently, quite level, covered 
by a thick stratum of snow, and with no visible crevasses. Russell, 

81 G 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 




on the contrary, in 1891, had found the edge of the glacier already 
bare of snow, and the moraines uncovered, to a great extent, as 

early as the 20th of June. 
^^y/^^l Putting together the 

■ sledges, and testing their 

capabilities, proved very 
tedious work. We pos- 
sessed four sledges, mea- 

SLKDUE. . - . 

sunng 5 and 7 feet in 
length. They had two vertical wooden, iron-shod runners united 
by cross-bars, the ends of which were fitted into the upper edge of 
the runners and secured in place by several turns of rope passing 
through holes in runner and cross-bar. Two small wooden rods 
fixed obliquely at both ends of the sledge, between the centre of 
the outer bars and the runners, kept the whole framework tight. 
These strong and very heavy sledges were more adapted for travel- 
ling upon bare ice than upon snow, where the narrow runners, only 
about one inch wide, sank deep, and caused great increase of 
friction. This defect was partly remedied by widening the runners 
by means of slips of wood fixed to their sides. Another fault dis- 
covered on the very first trial of these sledges, heavily loaded, was 
that the runners bent outwards from the slackening of the ropes 
binding them to the cross- 
bars. Accordingly, all 
the fastenings had to be 
altered, and tightened by 
wedges firmly driven in 
at the crossing points of 
the ropes. This device 
enabled us to load each 
sledge with an average 
weight of about 750 lbs. ; 

therefore the whole material carried forward from the moraine 
amounted to 3,000 lbs. weight. 

S2 




LOADED SLEDGES ON THE MALASPINA. 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 




WHYMPER TENT. 



The loads comprised : — Five tents of green, waterproofed 
linen cloth, all furnished with floor-pieces stitched to the flaps. 
The three larger tents 
were 7 by 7 feet, and 
of the pattern sug- 
gested by Whymper, 
the two smaller ones 
— 6^ by 4 feet — on 
that of Mummery. 
We spread a piece of 
oilcloth under each 
tent. 

H,R. H. occupied 
one of the Mummery 

tents ; the rest of us two of the Whympers, while the third was 
allotted to the guides. With eider-down sleeping-bags, covered 
with stout canvas, and placed on light folding iron bedsteads, 
standing a span high from the ground, we were able to defy the 
cold at night. The guides had from the beginning preferred to 
reject the lu.xury of bedsteads, and were quite satisfied with their 
sleeping-bags. 

The scanty space between the beds in each tent was carpeted 
with a thick rug to prevent our nailed boots from piercing the 

oilcloth. The whole 
camp equipment, in- 
cluding our bags of 
clothing, waterproofs, 
woollens, and extra 
shoes for the whole 
party, weighed 996 
lbs. 

Our kitchen ap- 
paratus consisted of two Norwegian petroleum stoves (Primus 
lamps), with a double lining of aluminium to protect the flame 

S3 




MUMMERY TENT. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

from the wind and support the pots and pans, which were of the 
same metal. All the utensils fitted one into the other, so as to 
take little room and be easy to pack. We had also two small 
spirit-stoves, which could be kept alight on the march in order 
to melt snow for our broth or tea. All the kitchen apparatus, and 
utensils included, weighed 64 lbs. 

The photographic baggage, comprising two camera obscitras, 
sensitive plates, black tent, etc. ; meteorological instruments, medi- 
cines and other accessories, such as ropes, aluminium flasks, knapsack- 
frames and snow-shoes, formed together a weight of 235 lbs. 

We started ^rom the moraine provided with sixteen rations 
of food, each of which, packed in a hermetically sealed tin and 
a canvas bag, was 52 lbs. in weight, and contained one day's 
supply of everything required for the maintenance of ten persons, 
viz., of ourselves and the guides.' 

The supplies for our American porters had been laid in by 
Major Ingraham at Seattle. They were provided with three white 
linen tents of the same size as ours, but without flooring. The 
men had mackintosh sheets to spread over the snow, and thick 
woollen blankets to keep out the cold. Their food was also 
packed in rations somewhat similar to ours. Their whole equip- 
ment, camp-material and provisions included, weighed 1,000 lbs. 

At I o'clock a.m., on July ist, the signal was given for our 
final start from the moraine ; but it was almost 3 o'clock before 
we had broken up the camp, finished loading the sledges, and 
seen them fairly started on the immense waste of ice. It was a 
beautifully clear night, and half an hour later, although the sun 
had not yet risen, there was enough light to distinguish every 
detail of the view.^ 

To the rieht, grreat bulwarks of the Cook chain run down 
bounding wide valleys filled with glaciers. Above these soars 
the majestic summit of Mount Cook, covered with snow from 

1 For full details of our equipment, vide Appendix A. 
'^' Vide the panorama at the end of the volume. 

84 




S 

o 

< 

3 

V) 



•I 

o 



c 



* 

I 



o 



• .' ■ •* 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

head to foot. Only here and there, on some ahnost sheer cliff, 
a patch of black rock serves to accentuate the form of the huge 
pile, whose irregularities are not discernible in the scattered, shadow- 
less light. The summit of the mountain forms a long crest 
capped by three lofty white domes, of which the central one rises 
to an altitude of 13,750 feet, and by a few lesser peaks. 

At the feet of these lies the mouth of the Marvine Glacier, 
flanked to the right by the isolated promontory of Blossom Island. 
Beyond this, towards the south-west, the east side of the Hitchcock 
chain stretches before us, a mass of sharp ridges and peaks, from 
which three great glaciers and several of lesser bulk flow down 
to the Malaspina. Farther on, the line of bastions seems to be 
interrupted for a considerable distance, and a faint white line 
indicates the ice fall by which the Seward Glacier pours into the 
Malaspina from its great basin between the Hitchcock and Samovar 
chains. 

Above the cascade rise two other imposing peaks, the Augusta 
(13,900 feet), and the Malaspina, of slightly inferior elevation. 

The projecting spur of the Samovar Hills partly hides the 
mouth of the Agassiz Glacier ; and far above towers the isolated 
pyramid of Mount St. Elias. To the left of it is the sharp lower 
peak of Mount Huxley (11,921 feet), with a low range of hills at its 
base dropping westwards in the direction of the Chaix and Robinson 
Hills. To the right of Mount St. Elias stands the clumsy dome of 
Mount Newton (13,811 feet), united to Mount Augusta by a long 
and deeply notched ridge. The east face of Mount St. Elias, 
directly before us, is divided into two walls, turning north-east and 
south-east by a short buttress falling steeply towards the Samovar 
Hills. 

Our march was directed towards a point, about 21 miles off, 
where the sharp ridge at the end of the Hitchcock chain comes 
down to the Malaspina. 

H.R. H. intended to take to the Seward Glacier from that point, 
as far as the foot of Pinnacle Pass, and thence the track followed by 

85 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Mr. Russell in 1890 over Dome Pass, Agassiz, and up Newton 
Glacier, in order to attempt Mount St. Elias from the north-east 
ridofe connecting^ it with Mount Newton and the Auo-usta rano;e. 
Judging by the accounts of previous explorers, this route seemed to 
offer the best chance of success, and by following it, Russell had 
approached much nearer to success than any other assailant of the 
peak. All explorers agree in describing the southern flanks of St. 
Elias as extremely steep, and swept by so many avalanches as to 
appear inaccessible. The ice plateaux at their feet are barely more 
than 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea, and it is doubtful whether the 
state of the mountain would allow of camps being pitched at a 
higher level. Yet without such camps it would be impossible to 
overcome the 15,000 feet up to the summit. But on the north- 
eastern flank there is the upper plateau of the Newton Glacier at 
8,000 feet, and the remaining height of 10,000 may be divided by 
making a camp on the col. 

Then, too, Mr. Russell had reported that this flank was neither 
excessively steep, nor apparently blocked by any impassable ob- 
stacle ; that, in short, its only serious drawback would be the 
uncertain weather common to the whole region. 

After three hours' march, once out of sight of the moraine, 
nothing but snow was visible. In front, behind, and to the left, 
stretched the vast white level, only bounded by mountains on the 
right. The prospect is very grand, but not at all picturesque ; it 
lacks foreground, shows no contrast of colour, and the outlines are 
blunted by the thick snow-mantle covering every ridge and peak ; 
while the sun, already high above the horizon, casts no shadows to 
break the uniformity of the view and throw it into relief We 
are dazzled by the reflection of the snow, and have all put on our 
spectacles. 

Dragging sledges is tiring work; for although the snow is in 
fairly good condition, they sink too deep into it. Accordingly, the 
men are often obliged to lift the prows in order to get them over the 
heaps of caked snow in front. Four men are harnessed two by two 

86 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

to each sledge ; the pair nearest the sledge have to keep it in the 
right track, and as far as possible in the tracks of the sledge ahead, 
where the beaten snow presents a harder surface. In dividing the 
labour, the men naturally fall into groups according to their occupa- 
tions and tastes. Thus we have one team of guides, one of students, 
a sailor team, and a mixed team composed of Major Ingraham, 
Botta, and two Americans. The guides go capitally ; being accus- 
tomed to snow, they pull together in step. The Americans will, 




PREPARING TO CROSS A GLACIER STREAM. 



little by little, grow used to the novel task. We follow behind, 
helping to push the sledges and set them straight when required. 
At first, we march twenty minutes, and then rest for five, 
but our halts grow longer and more frequent as our fatigue in- 
creases. 

The surface of the glacier is undulating, and lies in long, wide 
furrows of monotonous, stainless white ; the general inclination is 
very gentle, but by no means unfelt by the teams, and whenever we 
come to a steeper bit, the sledges are sent on one by one with eight 
men attached. Little ponds or puddles of slush lie at the bottom of 

87 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

almost every hollow ; and at some points our path is cut by torrents 
of crystal-clear water dashing over ice-beds between sheer walls of 
snow. Fortunately we encounter few of these torrents, and as they 
are not wide, we get the sledges safely over them on improvised 
bridges of alpenstocks and axes. The layer of snow on the 
glacier is of different depths, from a span to a yard and a half; but 
the ice is nowhere uncovered, and no stones are seen. 

As the day advances, the snow gets rapidly worse, and the 




CROSSING A GLACIER STREAM. 



work of dragging the sledges becomes so heavy that prudence 
compels us to stop in order to avoid over-fatiguing the men on the 
first day. 

It was 8 o'clock a.m., and we had taken about five hours to cover 
six miles. So we pitched our camp on the ice, and after a hasty 
meal, sought refuge from the glaring light, which was burning our 
faces, inside the tents, where the soft, greenish reflection filtered 
through the flaps rested our eyes after the pitiless reverberation 
without. Foreseeing that mists might come on the next day, 

88 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

H.R.H., with one of our party, set off in the afternoon, to map out 
a track over the snow in the direction of the Hitchcock range. 

As the sun decHned, and its rays became more slanting, the 
landscape was transformed. Spreading shadows on all sides re- 
vealed the noble lines of cliff and valley, while ample rounded 
flutings of whitened crests and wide, soft undulations of snow-filled 
ravines contrasted with precipitous rock-walls, and the steep, hard, 
sharply notched ridges, where, here and there, the mountain rock 
pierced through. The monotonous milk-white shroud covering 
the land at mid-day blends with the sky towards evening in 
a delicate harmony of tints that pleases the eye, and gives almost 




E.N'CAMPMENT ON THE MALASPINA. 



an impression of reviving life to this world of perpetual ice. On the 
extreme edge of the horizon, where glacier and sky seem to meet, 
you discern a tremulous movement, as of a distant sea with a 
bluish vapour floating over it. This is really an optical effect 
proceeding from the radiation of the earth. Then, the whole 
glacier is flooded with a rosy glow, rather darker than that on the 
mountains. In the west, the great yellow disk of the sun sheds 
streams of yellow rays over the level, and all the snow-waste seems 
on fire. 

The mild weather we were enjoying was too unusual to last in 
this region, and by midnight — the hour fixed for our awakening — 
it was raining in torrents. When the rain ceased about 3 a.m., we 

89 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

struck camp, wrapped about by so dense a mist that in half an hour 
we were dripping wet. By 5 a.m. we were on the march, and 
surprised to find the snow pretty firm. 

For the first hour and a half we followed the track marked out 
by H.R. H. on the preceding day, but it soon became necessary to 
steer by the compass. We presently arranged our train so as to 
proceed in a perfectly straight hne. A caravan of three persons, 
roped together, took the lead ; for in that thick fog, and with so much 
snow on the glacier, hiding possible crevasses, it might have been 
unsafe for the vanguard to move over unknown ground without 

the rope. 

The Prince took the 
hindmost place on the 
rope and steered by the 
compass, keeping the line 
of march north by north- 
west. About 150 feet in 
the rear of the first party, 
and therefore hardly able 
to see it through the mist, 
came a second group of 
us, charged with the duty 
of avoiding any slight deviation from the straight line produced 
in correcting the course. The sledges followed last. This long 
procession, and the indistinct forms of the men drawing the 
sledges, made a fantastic picture as of a polar expedition. Earth, 
air, and mist are all confused in the infinite desolation surrounding 
us on all sides. The pale, diffused light prevents our seeing clearly 
through our spectacles, yet we cannot take them off without being 
painfully dazzled by the reflection of the snow. The sledges go 
better than yesterday ; their loads are more equally distributed, 
and the men are learning how to walk on snow. The glacier has 
no undulations here, and its surface is almost even, with so slight an 
upward inclination that we scarcely notice the ascent. 

90 






A HALT OX THE MALASPINA. 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

After marching four hours we halt near a torrent, in the 
rain, to snatch a hasty breakfast ; and then go on till nearly 
I o'clock p.m. 

In a little over six hours we had done seven miles. All round 
the camp the snow is darkened by myriads of small black worms, 
which swarm to the surface on misty days, but disappear when the 
sun comes out.^ Mixed with these are innumerable tiny insects, 
which are hopping about in the liveliest manner, but bury themselves 
under the icicles whenever a hand is extended towards them. They 
are Isotoma Besselsi Packard or a near variety. Here and there 
a fly, lost in the mist or driven by the wind, lies frozen on the 
snow, and becomes the prey of the spiders, lurking in wait in every 
little hollow of the surface. Humble as they are, these manifestations 
of life show a marvellous adaptability to conditions apparently in- 
compatible with their existence. 

The next morning a sliorht lifting of the weather enabled us to 
ascertain that we were much nearer to our goal, and had taken the 
right direction. Starting at 5.30 a.m., we were soon enveloped in 
mist again. During the first hour or so, we marched in a straight 
line, but were then compelled to frequently diverge from it, in order 
to turn broad, conical depressions, that at first sight through the 
mist we took for wide crevasses. It was only on our return, in 
clear weather, that we ascertained their nature and size. 

Before long the rain came down again, and the soaked snow 
clung heavily to our shoes and caked on the sledge-runners, gready 
increasing every one's fatigue. Nevertheless, we made good pro- 
gress with a ten minutes' rest after twenty minutes' march, and 
rejoicing in the hope of reaching the Hitchcock range that day. 
The drizzle continued in the afternoon, but the mists lifted enough 
to allow us a confused glimpse of the eastern extremity of the 
ice-fall terminating the Seward Glacier, and the spur of Hitchcock to 
which we were bound. At 3 o'clock we could discern a dark line of 

1 Vide Prof. Carlo Emery, Appendix D, for an account of these worms 
and of the few zoological specimens collected by the expedition. 

91 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

detritus at the base of the hills, formed by strips of naked moraine, 
and half an hour later we were in the snow-filled hollow between 
the glacier and the chain. The passage of the Malaspina was 
accomplished. 

All about us, isolated moraine heaps protruded from the snow, 
and under foot was such a deep bed of slush, mixed with sharp stones, 
that we sank in knee-deep, and there was no possibility of pitching 
our tents on it. The Hitchcock Hills are very steep on this side, 
covered with grass and low scrub, excepting where the slopes are 



^^Sl 


* 




^^^^ ^^m^^ ^lii^H 


'^^ 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^Be^SS^^^^^^^ ^m^^ -—— '^w ^ 


^» ^"^Ti^iii"^ 


^ 


^Bbt^j^ 


f^^^BHM 


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ur. 



CAMP AT THE BAbE OF THE HlKHCt'CK RANGE. 



seamed by slides of crumbled earth and grit. A covey of white 
partridge rose from the thicket at our approach, but perched on 
neighbouring bushes as though moved to more curiosity than 
alarm. 

This last stage had covered about eight miles. The men were 
exhausted, and the rain had soaked us all. The guides and porters 
being unprovided with bedsteads, planted their tents on a narrow 
grassy ledge of the hills a short distance above the glacier, but ours 
were pitched on the snow. Our camp stood under the south-east 

92 





I 



o 

<; 

o 

<: 
g 



o 

CQ 

w 

CQ 



THE MALASPINA GLACIER 

wall of the Hitchcock range, a few hundred yards from the Seward 
cascade, and 1,703 feet above the sea. This is the highest elevation 
of the east lobe of the Malaspina Glacier, which descends from this 
point to the Pacific Ocean and Yakutat Bay. 

The following day, 4th July, was the anniversary of the 
Declaration of Independence of the United States. H.R. H. 
allowed the Americans a holiday for its celebration ; and we saw 
their national flag flying over their camp up the mountain side. 

In the nomadic life we were leading, it seemed quite natural 
to baptize every halting-place and every stage of our journey with 
names commemorating some incident of travel or local characteristic. 
Accordingly, our quarters by the spur of the Hitchcock chain bore 
the designation of "Independence" Camp. 




A PARTRIDGE OF THE HITCHCOCK HILLS. 



93 



CHAPTER VI 
Seward Glacier, Dome Pass, and Agassiz Glacier 



O 




U R journey across the Malaspina 
plateau had brought us to the very 
foot of the mountains, and we were now 
to push our way through them by 
the Seward Glacier, which pierces 
the chains like a wide high-road, 
dividing the groups of Mount Cook 
and Mount St. Elias. 

The Seward is the greatest 
known glacier of the Alpine type, 

and of much vaster proportions than 
i 

the giant ice-streams of the Hima- 
layas, which, until lately, were sujDposed to be unrivalled. It is 
more than 40 miles in length, from 3 to 6 miles in breadth, and 
flows majestically down at a very slight inclination, except here and 
there where the level of its bed makes a sudden dip, and the ice is 
split into a chaos of huge, irregular blocks. The Seward takes its 
origin from a wide basin, about 5,000 feet above the sea, lying be- 
tween the Logan and Augusta chains, and bounded to the east by 
the Irving range, and the vast semicircle of mountains dividing the 
latter from Mount Owen. It flows from this basin in a southerly 
direction, first walled in by the Corwin Cliffs and the northern branch 
of the Cook chain ; lower down by Mounts Augusta and Cook, then 
between the Samovar and Hitchcock Hills, and finally expands into 

94 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

the eastern lobe of the Malaspina Glacier, of which it is the principal 
tributary. 

The valley through which the Seward flows presents three 
narrow gorges dividing from one another three vast amphitheatres 
of mountains, each enclosing a nearly level plain of ice. Thus the 
glacier forms three plateaux rising in succession like steps, and con- 
nected by ice-falls in the gorges. The first ice-fall is at the brink 
of the upper basin, at the northern extremity of the Corwin Cliffs ; 
the second occurs where the two boundary bulwarks of the Pinnacle 
Pass — i.e., the northern bastion of the Cook group and the southern 
wall of the Hitchcock chain — project into the valley. Below this 
point the glacier, which now becomes divided into countless blocks 
by a labyrinth of broad crevasses, presently spreads out between the 
Samovar and Hitchcock Hills, until the southern ends of these 
ranges converge, thus forming the third gorge through which the 
ice pushes down to the Malaspina in the final cascade. 

Hence, the first difficulty before us was to conquer this terminal 
ice-fall of the Seward. On the 4th of July, the day after we en- 
camped under the Hitchcock Cliffs, while the Americans higher up 
were celebrating the anniversary of Independence in this remote 
district of their fatherland, Gonella and Sella set off with two guides 
to explore the route. Fortunately the rain had ceased, although 
the sky was still clouded. We who remained in camp found plenty 
of work in spreading out clothes to dry, after the last two days' 
soaking, and arranging various things which had been neglected 
during our forced marches. 

The Hitchcock Hills end in an abrupt spur some 450 feet high, 
and this being separated by a depression from the principal chain, 
has almost the air of an independent height. Gonella and Sella 
made straight for a deep ravine which ran up to this gorge, hoping 
to find a short cut through it to the Seward valley. But they 
encountered an unexpected obstacle in the shape of a small lake 
some 300 feet wide, and covered with floating ice, just at the bottom 
of the couloir between the edge of the Malaspina and the hills, 



£3^ 

95 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

analogous in formation to the lakes already described at the sides 
and southern end of the Chaix range. All these tarns are created in 
the same way. Wherever the edge of a glacier, without the pro- 
tection of a thick layer of moraine, touches the rock, a depression is 
produced on the surface by the radiation of heat from the rocks and 
soil that accelerates the melting of the ice. The glacier naturally 
drains into the cavity thus formed, giving rise to a little torrent, 
which hastens the melting of the ice over which it runs. Where a 
steep spur projects into the ice-field (as the Hitchcock and Chaix 
Hills project into the Malaspina), the drainage-channels of the 
two faces converge and often unite at the extremity, forming a 
lake, which again generally discharges into an ice-tunnel. 

The exploring party tried to reach the mountain side by skirt- 
ing this lake, and finally reached it after no little trouble and risk of 
accidents from the numerous water-holes in the marginal ice. 
They then reached the couloir, and mounting by it to the depression 
in the ridge, soon found themselves at the edge of the Seward, on 
the plateau above the terminal ice-fall. They then followed the 
glacier downwards, in the direction of the ice-fall, and climbed the 
isolated point at the extremity of the Hitchcock Hills, hoping to 
discover some easier and safer route than the one they had just 
traversed, so that the whole caravan with the loads might reach the 
plateau without risk. This hope was realized, for in the angle 
between the ice-fall and the extremity of the mountain they descried 
a steep gully filled with snow, running up for about 300 feet, and 
which, notwithstanding a steep gradient, could be converted into a 
safe track, even for portage, by cutting a zig-zag course with the 
axe. 

On the morning of the 5th July the guides went on ahead to do 
this work, while we broke up the camp. And now for the first time 
our caravan was divided. Five Americans were sent back with a 
sledge to fetch eight days' rations from the stores left on the 
moraine. In the three other sledges we carried all our things to 
the foot of the gully, making our way round the Hitchcock spur 

96 




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SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

among the sharp-edged boulders and stones of the left Seward 
moraine. This Seward moraine is composed of a strip of detritus, 
about 1,500 feet in breadth, running down several miles into the 
Malaspina Glacier. But now, early in July, it was still almost 
entirely covered with snow, save for a small space near the hills. 

The porters slowly climbed the narrow wedge of snow beside the 
ice-fall, on the track cut by the guides. They soon got used to the 
steepness, but refrained 
from imitating the guides 
in their glissades down 
the slope to bring up 
fresh loads. Caution was 
advisable, for the scattered 
stones and open crevasses 
at the foot of the gully 
would have rendered a 
fall dangerous. By half- 
past 1 1 o'clock all the 
baggage was stacked on 
the Seward plateau, above 
the terminal ice-fall.^ 

On the plateau we 
were in the midst of novel 
scenery, entirely different 
from that of the Mala- 
spina. Instead of the vast monotonous plain stretching to the 
horizon, unbroken by a single detail of line or colour, we now had 
before us a mass of ice some five miles wide, thrown up, as 

^ This track was never used again, either by the porters with fresh relays or by 
ourselves on the descent. Some days after we had climbed it, the lake at the foot of 
the Hitchcock became empty, and thus the caravans were able to cross its bed and 
mount straight to the hollow above without skirting the mountain spur. Lake 
Caetani and the Chaix Hills' lakes are subject to similar changes. They naturally 
overflow when the tunnels into which they discharge are blocked by masses of ice 
or detritus, and drain off when the tunnels are free. 




COULOIR LEADING UP TO THE SEWARD. 



97 



H 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

by some violent convulsion of nature, into myriads of great blocks 
piled in the wildest confusion, like an ocean suddenly congealed 
during a storm, though lacking the symmetry of waves. 

We were on a snow-drift heaped in a bend of the Hitchcock 
range, flanking the glacier. A mile or so beyond this point a cliff 
of the Hitchcock approached the glacier so closely as almost to 
come in contact with the scracs. We had no choice as to the route ; 
our only course lay over the snow, round the base of the cliff. 




THE S-EWARI) SEKACS — MOl'NT AUGUSTA AND MOUNT MALASl'lNA. 

It was clearly impossible to take to the glacier, since it was 
seamed with crevasses in every direction. Equally impossible would 
it have been to cross to the other side. We must skirt the left 
margin, hugging the base of the Hitchcock's western flank, until 
we reach some jDoint where a crossing can be effected. Fortu- 
nately the numerous neve's and glaciers from that mountain had 
massed together at its base, forming an almost uninterrupted 
dyke along the brink of the Seward. Following this route, w^e were 
able to convey the loads by sledge for considerable distances. But 

98 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

at many points it was necessary to carry everything on our backs, in 
order to climb steep drifts or cross rocky spurs which barred the 
road. 

From this face of the Hitchcock range project two main spurs, 
each ending in a bifurcation enclosing a small neve in its curve. 
The recess between the two great promontories forms a circular 
basin filled with level ice, which we named the Hitchcock Glacier. 




CAMP ON HITCHCOCK GLACIER, CLOSE TO THE SEWARD— THE TOP OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS SEEN 

THROUGH THE CLOUDS. 

It is dominated to the north by two sharp twin-peaks, one of bare 
rock, the other snow-clad, whose northern flanks fall sheer to 
Pinnacle Glacier. These are the two highest peaks of the Hitchcock 
group. 

It was easy enough to get round the first spur through the snow 
at its base without unloading the sledges more than twice. We 
next crossed the Hitchcock Glacier, still skirting the jagged sdracs of 
the Seward, as far as the foot of the second great spur. This is 

99 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

much loftier than the first, and juts out to the very edge of the 
Seward. It forms the southern wall of the Pinnacle Glacier, which, 
uniting with the Seward lower down, shoots over the ridge of this 
wall in an ice-fall. At one time traversing obliquely the steep bank 
of sliding soil, at another moment passing through snow-filled 
gullies, or climbing the ridges at their sides, we finally surmounted 
the second buttress ; and at midday, on the 8th of July, camp was 
pitched at 2,979 feet above the sea, in the extreme south-west 
corner of the Qflacier that comes down from Pinnacle Pass. 

It had taken four days to reach this point from the Malaspina. 
We had established a camp at the foot of the first buttress, and 
another, close to the second, on the Hitchcock Glacier. Excepting 
for a few hours, the weather had been almost constantly fine. The 
sun, even when partially veiled by mist, was excessively hot upon 
the glacier, and the light so dazzling that our eyes suffered in 
spite of smoked spectacles. 

H.R. H. always left camp with a small party several hours in 
advance of the rest of the caravan, in order to prospect the way 
ahead, and daily pushed on to the farthest possible point. The 
loaded sledges followed slowly in the rear, and by evening we were 
all together in camp. The day we reached Pinnacle Glacier, H.R. H. 
pushed on to explore the route over the Seward, and following it 
almost to the mouth of the valley running down from Dome Pass, 
only returned to camp very late in the afternoon. He had ascer- 
tained that we must continue to skirt the edge of the Seward for 
two or three miles, before finding a practicable way across. 

Only the guides were with us now. Ingraham and his five 
remaining porters had gone down with a sledge to meet the first 
party coming back from the Malaspina moraine. The latter were 
to join us farther up with fresh supplies, while Ingraham's party 
took its turn in going down to the depot on the moraine. From 
this time on we only saw the porters occasionally and for brief 
periods. They were so prompt in following out H.R. H.'s plans, 
and executed his orders with so much punctuality, in spite of 

100 




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2 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

unforeseen obstacles from bad weather and changed condition of 
the mountain, that we were never once delayed by having to 
wait for them. 

Our camp was pitched on a tongue of the Pinnacle Glacier' 
that runs southward and crosses the end of a spur of the Hitchcock 
Hills, to unite with the Seward in an ice-fall. All the rest of the 
glacier is one great unbroken level, which joins the Seward with 
a wide frontage, and rises gently eastwards to Pinnacle Pass. 



ICE-CASCADE AT THE JUNCTION OF PINNACLE WITH THE SEWARD GLACIERS. 

Behind the pass we again caught sight of the snowy summit 
of Mount Cook. Beyond the level before us rose the vertical 
wall belonging to the Cook system, that forms the northern rampart 
of Pinnacle Pass. This wall is composed of distinct horizontal 
strata of black and grey rock and surmounted by the sharp, 
slender pinnacles to which the col owes its name. This bastion 
hid from our view the upper portion of the Seward. It stretches 
so far to the west that the valley is barely three miles wide at 

1 Vide the panoramic view of the Seward basin, at the end of the volume. 

loi 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

this point. Nevertheless, the glacier does not form an ice-fall here, 
there being no sudden drop in the level of its bed, but flows 
in a steep incline until it has passed the mouth of the Pinnacle 
valley, to the upper spur of the Hitchcock range. 

There is a deep calm in these luminous afternoons. The 
glacier is alive with the murmur of running water in the crevasses, 
and the sharp repercussion of stones falling from the si'i-acs. You 
can hear the stir of hidden vitality, the process of slow, continuous 




PINNACLE GLACIER, MOUNT COOK. 

change, although nothing is visible to the eye but the great frozen 
mass, betraying no sign of the giant force with which these millions 
of tons of ice press slowly forward. The whole glacier is 
covered with snow ; only at the edges, s^racs, soiled with detritus, 
form a darker line indicative of marginal moraine. These lines 
were much more distinct a month later, on our way back from 
Mount St. Elias. 

The whole Hitchcock chain stretches in a wide crescent flankinof 
the Seward, and we can trace the route followed during the 

X02 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

previous days along the base of the cliffs. The farther side the 
glacier is bounded by the Samovar Hills, a low chain of rounded, 
stumpy heights covered with snow-fields, and broken by low ridges 
dividing vales filled by small glaciers. A crag of black rock, ap- 
parently separated from the main chain by a level tract of ice, 
juts into the Seward exactly facing the north bastion of Pinnacle 
Pass, and helps to narrow the valley at this point. It also masks 
a considerable glacier running up to the Dome Pass. 




NORTH BUTTRESS OF PINNACLE GLACIER. 



Behind the southern extremity of the Samovar chain, walling 
in the terminal cascade of the Seward, we perceive the outlines 
of other crests of the same group, litde parallel ridges projecting 
towards the Malaspina. A large moraine produced by the fusion 
of the marginal moraines of Seward and Ao^assiz starts from 
these bastions and trails down into the Malaspina, like a colossal 
ribbon, trending westwards as far as the eye can reach, and dividing 
the eastern from the middle lobe of the glacier. This moraine 
also is now coated with snow. Behind the extremity of the 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 



Samovar we discern the mouth of the Agassiz Glacier with its 
terminal cascade, and, still farther back, the Chaix Hills slightly 
veiled in mist. The Malaspina, usually obscured by low banks 
of fog, is distinctly visible this evening in all its vast extent 
to the far horizon, where it ends in a pale blue line that re- 
sembles, but is not, the sea. 

Behind the Samovar chain, there, to the west, towers the 
symmetrical pyramid of Mount St. Elias. How much closer have 

we approached it since the day 
we first beheld it, half shrouded 
in mist, from the deck of the 
Bertha ! Here, the proportions 
of the landscape are on so vast 
a scale that our peak seems 
to have dwindled, for all its 
importance, and we hesitate to 
believe it can be as much as 
18,000 feet in height. At the 
feet of the northern and 
southern extremities of the 
mountain, which we now see in 
profile, rise the peaks of Mount 
Huxley and Mount Newton ; 
while exactly facing us is the 
short, steep south-east ridge 
that joins the south bastion of the Newton valley. The northern 
wall of this same valley consists of a lengthy chain extending east- 
wards from Mount Newton, first surmounted by a string of unnamed 
summits, and then by the three great peaks of Mounts Bering,^ 

^ H.R.H. gave the name of Bering to a broad snow-summit due west of Mount 
Malaspina and of somewhat inferior Ireight. Viewed from the Seward, the top has 
the appearance of a long ridge running up at the eastern end to a peak that is 
connected with Mount Malaspina by a wide col of ice. Russell mentions a peak 
called Jeannette between Mounts Newton and Malaspina, but I was unable to 
obtain exact indications as to its locality. 

104 




MOUNT ST. ELIAS— SEWARD GLACIER BENEATH 
PINNACLE GLACIER. 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

Malaspina, and Augusta. The last of these unites with the head 
of the Samovar range. ^ 

Mount Augusta (almost 14,000 feet) is undoubtedly the most 
important peak of this group, and the only one of sufficient 
majesty to compete with Mount St. Elias. It is a bald, precipitous 
peak, seamed with deep ice couloirs, crested with terrific ridges 
and with overhanging glaciers which apparently cling to sheer walls 
of rock. This face of the mountain appears to be quite inac- 




WEST FACE OF THE HITCHCOCK CHAIN AND LEFT FLANK OF THE SEWARD, 
FROM THE BASE OF PINNACLE GLACIER. 

cessible ; our guides look at it reflectively, and confess that it 
would be hard to find a path up it unswept by avalanches of 
stones and ice. 

Beyond Mount Augusta the chain suddenly takes another 
direction, bends to the north-east, and, dipping down considerably, 
forms the Corwin Clifts, which flank the Seward Glacier to the 
west. 

' Vide note at page 1 1 8. 
105 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Ever-changing mists drift lazily along the glaciers, gather 
upon the summits, vanish behind the peaks, and again return to 
shroud them the next moment. The sky is mottled with broken, 
shapeless clouds, tinged with rose colour here and there, while in 
the west the great blurred, yellow sun sinking into the 
mists is perhaps the best part of the picture. Throughout the 
vast expanse before us, bare rocks and ice are all that meet 
the eye ; not a trace of life, not a patch of verdure to enliven 




FI.OWERIXG LUriNS, BELOW THE PINNACLE CASCADE. 

the desolate majesty of the scene. The southern spur of the 
Chaix Hills and Blossom Island are the only spots in this mountain 
waste where trees are to be found. On the southern slopes of 
the Hitchcock Hills, thickets of dwarf shrubs are the only growth. 
Nevertheless, at a short distance from the camp, against the south 
bastion of the Pinnacle, close to the spires and turrets of the 
ice-fall, we discovered a little stretch of soil where the snow had 
just melted, already clad with a thick mantle of dark blue lupins, 
mingled with violets, anemones, saxifrages, and moss. We noticed 

106 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

a few black flies among the flowers, and some pretty little grey 
birds, of the size of sparrows, were flying about overhead. A 
very oasis of colour and fragrance in the midst of the lifeless 
waste of ice. 

On the 9th of July we crossed the snout of Pinnacle Glacier. 
It is from 2^ to 3 miles in width, almost flat, and covered by a 
thick bed of snow, seamed in little parallel grooves, with long. 




FLOWER-COVERED SLOPE OF THF. HITCHCOCK HILLS. 

reddish stripes formed by masses of the microscopic weed 
{Sphcerella nivalis) ^ that is common to glaciers in all parts of the 
world. 

The Seward sc'racs cling so closely to the north buttress of 

1 There is a complete flora of snow and ice, consisting of many species of weeds 
and lichens, all of the most diminutive size. Wittrock (quoted by A. Heim in 
Gktsckerkunde, Stuttgart, 1885, p. 411) describes forty species of the Snow Flora, 
ten of the Ice Flora, and five species common to both. 

107 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

the pinnacle that we cannot skirt round its base. Fortunately, 
a small snow-saddle was found close to its final spur, to which 
we were able to climb by a convenient bank of snow. On the 
rock ridge near the camp we discovered a scrap of cloth, evidently 
torn from a tent, and a small pile of stones. These were the 
only traces of mankind encountered during the whole of our 
ascent, and were left by Russell in 1S90, when he camped here 
for several days after crossing Pinnacle Pass.^ 




THE HITCHCOCK HILLS, FROM " RUSSELL CAMP." 

Accordingly, we named this neck of snow Russell's Camp. 
The ridge just above it juts out in a sharp point, which Mr. 
Russell christened Point Glorious, to mark his admiration of the 
view it afforded over the Seward basin and the encircling mountains. 

On the slope behind Point Glorious there is a great level 
amphitheatre bounded to the south by the Pinnacle Cliffs, to 

1 The narrow ridge of the Pinnacle Cliffs, on which we were encamped, is inter- 
esting geologically. In Appendix E, Sig. Vittorio Novarese, of the Royal Geo- 
logical Office (Rome), has given an account of the mineralogical specimens collected 
by the expedition, together with a short, critical summary of Mr. Russell's works on 
the geology of the Mount St. Elias region. 

108 




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S. ElIAS from SEV/AED glacier - O'N SUNSET, 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

north and east by long slopes of snow rising to the flanks of the 
Mount Owen chain. In the distance, behind Mount Owen, we 
discern another gigantic snow-peak. Mount Irving, resembling 
Mount Cook, whose northern flanks drop down towards the 
upper basin of the Seward. This upper basin seems bounded 
to the north by a girdle of mountains mostly covered with snow 
and, probably, joining Mount Logan to the west. 

Looking down on the Seward Glacier beneath us, we note 




MOUNT OWEN, FROM POINT GI.OKIOUS. 



that its crevasses are as regularly disposed as if planned on 
some colossal design. Immediately below the upper cascade, at 
the outlet of the original basin, the glacier forms a wide, gently- 
sloped expanse cut by numerous crevasses. 

About a mile above Point Glorious the slope becomes steeper, 
while the glacier deviates from its former south-easterly course, 
and, making a slight bend, flows straight towards the south. 
The upper portion has only marginal crevasses, which run, as 
usual, obliquely from the lateral banks towards the centre of 
the glacier against the direction of the current, and branch off 

109 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

from the sides at an angle of about 40°.^ The cracks proceeding 
from either margin of the glacier meet in the centre lower down, 
thus forming crevasses in the shape of an inverted letter V, across 
the entire width of the ice, with the apex in the centre and pointing 
upwards, the extremities at the sides and turning downwards. 
These crevasses occur at regular intervals about 50 feet apart. 
But their shape changes before long. Owing to the greater 
velocity of the current in the middle of the glacier, the vertex 





SEWARD GL.\CIER (CENTRAL PORTION). 

of the V flows down faster than the ends ; and the original 
angle of 50° to 60° becomes more and more obtuse, until every 
crevasse runs in a straight line all the way across. As the descent 
continues, the angle is gradually reversed : first the crevasses 
become crescent-shaped, with the cavity turned upwards ; then 
again take the form of a V, enclosing an angle of about 30°, 
with the apex downwards. Meanwhile, the cracks grow wider 

' For complete explanation of this particular arrangement of crcvassa the reader 
is referred to books treating of glacial phenomena. 

no 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

and wider at the centre of the glacier, and the layers of ice 
dividing one from another are broken up by the constant pressure 
into short crevasses running in a perpendicular direction to the 
main ones, and parallel with the glacier's axis. Thus, at last, the 
whole mass is split up into gigantic cubes, most of which are 
completely isolated by fissures on every side. 

Below the point where Pinnacle Glacier runs into the Seward, 
the crevasses are so numerous and so intricately interlaced that 
no fixed order of arrangement can be traced : nothing but irre- 
gular blocks of every size heaped up at random. And in this 
state the glacier continues down to its terminal cascade. 

The aspect of the Seward was somewhat different in 1890, 
when Mr. Russell first saw and described it. At that time the 
transversal arrangement of the crevasses was maintained down to 
the lower portion of the glacier, and the surface became smoother 
for some distance before reaching the final cascade. Possibly, all 
the ice was more thickly covered with snow that year. Even the 
glacier's rate of descent must have decreased since 1890. Although 
Russell's attempts to measure it at the time failed to give con- 
formable results, he maintains that the rate of speed in the centre 
of the glacier must be 20 feet daily, at the least. Mr. Russell 
and his fellow-e.xplorer, Mr. Kerr, both relate how sdracs frequently 
crashed down with such force as to shake the ice under their feet, 
and they add that almost incessant reports and rumblings were 
produced by the rolling and shattering of the fallen blocks. 
Nothing of the kind was observed by ourselves during the days 
we spent on and about the Seward. The glacier was always per- 
fectly quiet ; only now and then a solitary stone would come 
down, or a fragment of siirac would drop into a crevasse with a 
dull thud. 

Seated on the rocky spur near the camp by Russell's stone 
cairn, we gaze with emotion upon the splendid spectacle before 
us. As usual, the evening light softens all the details. The 
faint haze clinging to the mountains lends a peculiar softness to 

III 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

their harsh ridges and to the dark shadows in the hollows. The 
glaciers of Hitchcock, of Seward, and of the distant Malaspina, 
are a warm creamy white ; the faintest trace of shadow just barely 
marks their broad undulations. Our caravan track runs like a 
furrow across the Pinnacle Glacier : the only break in its great level 
surface. Delicate mists wreath the highest peaks. The sun has 
set slowly behind Mount St. Elias, and its two crests, north 
and south, glow faintly, as if they were phosphorescent. One 
last ray gilds the summit of Mount Augusta, whose darkly 
shadowed slopes look black and sullen, in vivid contrast to the 
splendour around. Frost has arrested all movement ; no stone 
falls, there is no sound of water in the crevasses of the Seward. A 
dead calm prevails, an utter silence, a penetrating and serene 
sense of peace. 

The following day (loth of July) we crossed the Seward. To 
find a route down to the glacier we had to coast again, for a while, 
round the edge of the spur on which we had camped, dragging the 
sledge over the snow- slope at its base. The weather was cloudy 
and oppressive ; the snow in a very bad state. The guides found 
it as much as they could do to manage a single sledge, while we 
assisted in pushing it over the steeper parts of the way, and sup- 
porting it with our shoulders to keep it from rolling downhill. 
After conquering a second spur, covered with broken ice, by dint 
of carrying all the baggage on our backs, we again reloaded the 
sledge, and finally struck out across the Seward in a westerly 
direction. The glacier is about three miles wide at this point, 
but we were obliged to take so tortuous a route in order to avoid 
the crevasses that the distance was nearly doubled, in spite of the 
preliminary exploration by H.R. H., which had reduced these 
inevitable deviations to the minimum. 

We kept a course parallel with the huge ci-cvasses along strips 
of ice scarcely wider than the sledge, and sometimes across square 
blocks connected by snow bridges, which were, fortunately, solid 
enough. A part)- of two, roped together, were in the van, carefully 

112 




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SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

testing and "sounding" with the ice-axe every bridge over which 
the heavily-laden sledge and its team of five men had to pass. 

The transversal crevasses measured from 30 to 50 feet in 
width, and had a pecuHarity that was quite new " to us all. 
Their walls were not of ice but of granulated snow, arranged in 
strata 10 to 15 feet thick, separated one from the other by darker 
layers of dust and fine detritus. In the deeper fissures we counted 
from eighteen to twenty of these snow-strata ; but in none, as 
far down as we could see, was there any of the green ice peculiar 




TRAVERSING THE SEWARD. 



to glaciers. Every one of these strata must be the result of a fall 
of snow, while the intermediate dark layers represent periods of 
fine weather. 

As we drew nearer to the middle of the valley, the whole 
expanse of the amphitheatre north of the Pinnacle Cliffs, with 
Mount Cook in the background, unfolded itself to our eyes. So 
many tributary glaciers pour down into the Seward from all sides, 
that one scarcely understands how so enormous a volume of ice 
can possibly squeeze through the gorge between the Pinnacle Cliffs 
and Samovar Hills. The wall of Mount Augusta towered above 

II?. I 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 




MOUNT AUGUSTA, FROM THE SEWARD. 



US, but its base was hidden by a low sandstone buttress separating 

the Augusta Glacier from the Cascade Glacier.^ The peak appears 

to be a retrular cone of 
snow, the summit of which 
is lost in the clouds. On 
reaching the mouth of the 
valley coming down from 
the Dome Pass, we see 
beyond the latter, and 
above the Samovar ridge, 
the whole course of an- 
other great vale, closed 
on its western side by a 
wall of ice terminating 

in a col at the foot of the north ridge of Mount St. Elias. 

This is the Newton valley, and the remainder of our route lies 

mapped out before us. Then gradually, as we draw closer to 

the Samovar Hills, Mount St. Elias and Newton valley begin to 

sink behind them and finally vanish altogether. 

On reaching the point where the glacier tlowing down from 

the Dome Pass unites 

with the Seward, we call 

a brief halt for lunch. 

After this, the truides qo 

back to fetch the second 

sledge, while H.R. H. and 

the rest of us, dragging 

the one we have with us, 

push on a mile or so 

farther up the Dome 

Pass valley, and pitch 

camp at about 3,350 feet 

above the sea. 







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CAMT OX MiWAKll r.LACIEK. 



1 I'u/f note on page 1 1 8. 
114 




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SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

Towards evening rain begins to fall, and continues the whole 
of the next day. The guides employ the time in bringing up the 
remainder of the baggage from Russell Camp, discarding at the 
base of Pinnacle Cliffs one of the two sledges we had re- 
tained. Thus there is now one sledge on the Malaspina, another 
on the snow- slopes of the Hitchcocks, and a third on the Seward. 
In this way the porters are spared the labour of carrying them on 
their backs across ice-falls and rocks. 




CAMT OX THE SEWARD, AT 1 HE FOOT OF DOME PASS : LOOKIN'C EAST. 

The glacier by which wc have to mount from the Seward to 
the Dome Pass is not steep, and the few wide crevasses are 
spanned by solid snow-bridges. At the beginning of the ascent we 
have on the right the Cascade Glacier, which falls precipitously 
down from the south-east face of Mount Augusta through a deep 
gully ; farther on, our course lies between sheer walls of the Samovar 
Hills, composed of rocks so homogeneous in structure that, in 
spite of continual avalanches of stones, no coidoirs are formed. The 
little side gullies opening here and there are filled with snow. 

115 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT SI'. ELIAS 

Higher up, near the pass, the incline becomes somewhat steeper, 
and we have to skirt round a few yawning crevasses. 

The Dome Pass (3,800 feet) is more than 300 feet above our 
last camp. Two glaciers flow down from it, one eastward into the 
Seward, the other westward into the Agassiz. The pass is flanked 
on either side by two symmetrical, smoothly-curved domes, that 
to the south-west crowned by a perfectly hemispherical ice-cap, the 
other to the north-cast with a rocky top bordered by a snow cor- 
nice, soon to be melted by the sun. The cloudy weather, soon 




CAlir AT THE FOOT OF DOME PASS, ON THE SEWARD : LOOKING WEST. 

to change to fog and rain, prevents us from obtaining any 
view to the west of the co/ in the direction of the Agassiz 
Glacier. 

On the day when w-e encamped on the Dome Pass, we were 
joined by Ingraham and the five Americans who had descended to 
the moraine from Independence Camp, meeting on their way the 
other five who were journeying back from Pinnacle Camp. In the 
space of one week these hardy Americans had done more than 
forty miles on the Malaspina Glacier (going and returning), and 
over twenty miles in addition by the difiicult route along the base 

116 




u 
o 



en 



o 

o 
o 

u 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

of the Hitchcock Hills and across the Seward, carrying baggage 
of about 600 lbs. weight, including their own provisions and 
equipment, together with eight days' rations for our own party. 
It was remarkable to see how rapidly the men became accustomed 
to carry on their backs or drag upon sledges increasingly heavy 
weights. The 45 to 50 lbs. per head that at first was considered 
a heavy burden on almost level paths became the ordinary load 




DOME r.\ss. 



for every porter, even on difficult tracks and steep inclines. As 
for the guides, each of them was now equal to carrying as much 
as So lbs. weis^ht for a moderate distance. 

The valley branching westward from the Dome Pass is longer 
than that to the east, and is still walled in by the Samovar Hills. 
The cliffs are of the same character as before. The glacier is 
only slightly ci'evassed, and terminates at the bottom in a drop, 
luckily not steep enough to form an ice-fall. We descend it 

117 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELI AS 

easily, letting the sledge slide down on a wide ridge of ice between 
two deep furrows, and halt (13th July) on the eastern ridge of 
the Agassiz Glacier, at the foot of the col. We have descended 
about 485 feet, so are now a little lower than at the corresponding 
camp on the Seward, about 3,566 feet above the sea. 

The Agassiz Glacier — its broken surface bristling- with iasfored 
si'racs — skirts the base of the north buttress of the Dome Pass, 




< AMI' (TN THE DOME TA^S. 



winding towards Mount Augusta and the Malaspina. Behind, 
there must be a great basin collecting the snows from the west 
flank of Mount Augusta, from the Malaspina and Behring, bounded 
by the Samovar chain on the east, and, on the west, by a ridge 
running down from the Behring and dividing the upper basin of 
the Agassiz from the lower part of the Newton.^ Our camp stands 



1 Mr. Russell gives a somewhat different account of the topography of this region. 
In his opinion, the head of the .Samovar chain, instead of Joining on to Mount 
Augusta, is connected with Mount Malaspina, whence glaciers run down into the 
Seward (Cascade Glacier). From our own observations on the spot, and from 

118 




w 

l-H 

o 

-^ 

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I— ' 

CO 

CO 

W 
h 

:3 

o 





SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

facing the great cascade of scracs with which the Newton hurls 
itself down into the Agassiz, and at their point of junction the 
two glaciers are of about equal volume. 

On the north buttress of the Dome Pass, rising steeply at a 
little distance from us, a few patches of green are still seen 600 
feet higher up. The limit of vegetation on the mountain slopes 




ON THE AOASSIZ, AKTER THE RAIN. 



careful studies from the photos we brought back, the arrangement of the mountains 
would seem to accord with the description I have given above. That is to say, the 
Samovar chain would form a buttress of Mount Augusta (supposing this name to be 
applied to the highest and most imposing summit of the group), and all the glaciers 
on the southern walls of Mount Malaspina would flow into the upper basin of the 
Agassiz. The buttress coming down from Mount Behring, and bordering this basin 
to the west, is the same that, during the whole of our march up the Newton valley, 
hid from us the western flanks of Malaspina and Augusta, and is clearly seen in all 
the photographs of the region to the east of Newton Glacier which were taken in 
Newton valley, on the Russell col, and on the ridge of Mount St. Elias. We have 
retained the name of Cascade for the great glacier flowing from the southeast flank of 
Mount Augusta, situated between the head of the Samovar chain and a short buttress 
that divides it from the Augusta Glacier. It falls into the glacier that descends to 
the east of the Dome Pass, just before the latter is merged in the Seward. 

119 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

facing south must be therefore at about the level of 4,000 feet above 
the sea. From the camp we can hear the note of partridges among 
scanty grass-tufts, as well as the whistle of an occasional marmot. 
The spurs on the north of the Malaspina Glacier own a richer 
fauna than might be expected. On the Chaix Hills a good many- 
bears, wolves, foxes, mountain goats, partridges, and a shrew- 
mouse have been found. A track well beaten by quadrupeds runs 
north-east from the base of the hills and across the Malaspina 




1 lit A^,A--~IZ GLACIER. 



Glacier for seven or eight miles towards the Samovar chain 
(Russell). Even a fish was once found in a glacier torrent 
that pours into the Caetani Lake. The history of these zoological 
species would repay study. How and when did they come here, 
and from where ? Imprisoned in a narrow zone, surrounded by 
glaciers on every side, in a region where the earth is frost-bound 
for at least seven months of the year, their existence seems almost 
miraculous. 

Easterly and south-easterly winds were now blowing per- 

120 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

sistently, accompanied by rain, mist, and heavy cloud-banlcs, which 
hung motionless about a thousand feet overhead. During several 
days the sun only appeared at distant intervals for a short time, 
emitting a pale, colourless light that the reflection from the snow 
rendered fatiguing and bewildering. Infinite precautions had to be 
taken to keep the interior of our tents tolerably dry. But by this 
time we were almost damp-proof The temperature remained quite 
bearable, being nearly 
always a little above freez- 
ing point, and two hours 
of misty sunshine sufficed 
to dry our belongings. 
The expectation of what 
was before us and of the 
probable hardships to be 
faced made us indifferent 
to petty inconveniences. 
Mindful of Russell's ad- 
vice, Sella had adopted 
the plan of lowering a 
pail down a crevasse and 
obtaining water in this 
fashion. It was a happy 
idea, and led to much 
saving of fuel. Consider- 
able heat is required to melt snow or ice, and as half a gallon of 
petroleum was the daily allowance for making early coffee, tea at 
other meals, and soup for all ten of us, it was best to be thrifty. 
Accordingly, we always tried to camp near a tarn, and some- 
times patiently collected water from the drippings of a con- 
venient sdrac during the warm part of the day. 

We crossed the Agassiz on July 15th, re-ascending it 
obliquely towards the western extremity of the Newton ice-fall. 
The surface of the glacier is very unequal, and on the left half of it 

121 




K i;-V.\UI.T OVER A I.AKEI.ET ON THE AGASSIZ C.I.ACIER. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

(to the east) every depression is filled by a small pool. Here and 
there we came upon torrents. As previously on the JVIalaspina, we 
got the sledge over these by bridging them with our ice-axes. The 
water of these lakes is clear as crystal, of dark cobalt blue in the 
centre, where it is deepest, and shading off to a fainter tint near the 
edge. Where snow-bridges occur across the tarns, the colour of 
the water is reflected on the snow in extremely delicate tones. We 




I wir A I rill', loi.i oi- Ni:\vi'i\ r,i.\i. 



encountered many wide crcz'asscs, and sometimes strange sc'rars 
formed arches and viaducts over the blue water, often resembling 
the work of man. 

At the end of our march the tents were pitched on the western 
side of the glacier, at 3,740 feet above the sea, beside a small pool 
canopied by a great, smoothly curved, overhanging sc'rac, resting 
on a pillar of ice. 

We were now at the foot of a buttress which comes straight 
down from St. Elias, and after forming the south wall of Newton 

122 




X 
W 

O 
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O 

o 
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< 

o 



SEWARD GLACIER, DOME PASS, AND AGASSIZ GLACIER 

valley Glacier, bends to the south-east at the latter's terminal cascade, 
and becomes the boundary of the Agassiz valley. From the camp 
we had only a view of the Newton terminal cascade, which is loftier 
and wider than any we had seen before, and with the flank of the 
Newton Augusta chain, covered with huge, precipitous glaciers, 
making most imposing of backgrounds. 

H.R. H. had already explored a track to the Newton, up a 
narrow wedge of snow between the western brink of the cascade 
and the rock- cliff walling it in. 

Having passed the last point where the sledge can be used, 
all the loads must henceforth be carried on our backs. We leave 
everything behind except clothes actually in wear, thus limiting our 
baggage to the barest necessaries of life. 

Mr. Russell had adopted the same course, and practically at 
the same point, in 1891 ; accordingly, the present camp at the foot 
of the Newton Glacier retained for us the name he had formerly 
given it of " Sledge Camp." 



12?. 



CHAPTER VII 
Newton Glacier 




O 



jN July i6th we struck our tents 
at Sledge Camp and set out 
to climb the Newton Glacier, divid- 
ing our party into several cara- 
vans, each of which started as soon 
as the loads were packed. We had 
spent one night only in this camp, 
and had worked very hard to get 
everything in readiness for the 
start. We were impatient to make 
our way up this last valley, from the 
top of which we expected to obtain 
a complete view of Mount St. Elias 
from base to summit. 
The Agassiz Glacier pours down from its basin in a very broken 
state, and its surface becomes still more chaotic as it flows past the 
terminal cascade of the Newton. The two glaciers do not fuse at 
once in a single mass at their point of junction ; for some distance 
the Newton sdracs stand out from the surface of the Aeassiz in the 
shape of huge blocks of hard snow, scattered between the crevasses, 
or half buried in them, now stretching across them like a bridre, or 
again poised on the very brink, often at so sharp an angle that one 
expects them to fall at any moment. To reach the foot of the ice- 
fall at the western end, we have to walk for a while over this 
rugged tangle of the Agassiz, threading labyrinths of ice-blocks and 

124 




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< 



I? 
o 



NEWTON GLACIER 



cautiously crossing snow-bridges, over numerous crevasses, often 
half filled with water. 

We gained the Newton jolateau in the same way that we had 
mounted the terminal ice-fall of the Seward ; namely, by a tongue 
of snow and ice wedged between the rocks and sch'acs. This gully, 
however, is double the height of that on the Seward (about 600 
feet), and is split half- 
way up by three or four 
wide crevasses, with edges 
of live ice, placed almost 
vertically one above the 
other. To cross these 
with our loads was an 
unpleasant bit of work, 
but neither difficult nor 
dangerous. The snow 
in the gully was studded 
with stones and boulders 
fallen from the perpen- 
dicular rock-wall 1,000 
feet in height, which 
bounds it on the left, and 
is furrowed with innumer- 
able vertical grooves, sur- 
mounted at the top by a 
glacier, of which the edge 
is visible. 

On reaching the top 
of this couloir we turned to the riyht towards the centre of the 
Newton Glacier. 

The upper valley was filled with mist, and we could see 
nothing in front of us, excepting another huge fall of sdracs, extend- 
ing across the whole width of the glacier and apparently barricading 
the valley. In little more than half an hour we had traversed the 

1^5 




TERMINAL CASCADE OF NEWTON GLACIER (SHOWING 
THE KOUTE TAKEN BY THE TARTY). 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

'f)la:teaLi--and-cast off our loads almost at the foot of the second ice- 
fall, i4,4<S5 feet above the sea. 

The leadinsf characteristic of all the great g^laciers of this recrion 
— namely their division into terraces connected by ice-falls — is more 
obvious in the Newton than in any of the others. Here the foot of 
the terminal ice-fall is at 3,740 feet above the sea, while the basin 
from which it flows is at 8,661 feet. The difference of level is 
owing almost entirely to the three tremendous drops, between which 




Mount Malaspina. Mount Augusta. 

KASTERN VIEW I'KOM THE SECOND riAlEAI' OF NEWTON lU.ACIER. 



the <,dacier forms three plateaux. The lowest of these, just above 
the terminal cascade, is 745 feet higher than the Agassiz ; the 
second terrace is 1,875 ^^^t above the first, while the topmost is at 
a level of 2,201 feet above the second. Thus the ice-falls increase 
in height as the valley rises. The lowest, however, has the most 
precipitous drop, and the ice is so broken that it might perhaps 
be impossible to climb it in the centre ; the second is less steep, and 
subdivided by a short stretch of comparatively level, though still 

12b 



^. 





J 



'f: 



On the sekacs ofNewton glacier 



NEWTON GLACIER 

broken ice.' The highest of the three is steeper and shorter than 
the middle one. The surface of the intermediate terraces is 
undulating- and full of crevasses ; but the uppermost of these is the 
widest and steepest. In fact, the two lower plateaux are almost 
level, and at certain points their slope is actually reversed. 

The glacier runs through a deep valley, the head of which is 
closed by a steep ice-wall rising to the col between Mount St. Elias 
and Mount Newton. On either side it is bounded by two 
buttresses of Mount St. Elias, with a mediiun heis^ht of about 10,000 
feet. Of these the one to the north is the more picturesque. To 
the blunt, flattened summit of Mount Newton succeeds a long series 
of slender pinnacles and dizzy ice-peaks, reaching heights of i 2,000 
to 13,000 feet, and connected by sharp ridges, variously twisted 
and curved, falling at every angle on all sides, and edged with huge 
cornices of snow. The chain e.xtends as far as Mount Behring, 
keeping the same height throughout its length. A short ridge juts 
out from the latter summit, and, barring the base of the valley, com- 
pels the Newton Glacier, running from west to east, to change its 
direction during the last part of its course towards the Agassiz, so 
that its terminal cascade faces due south. The southern buttress 
of the valley, starting from the eastern crest of Mount St. Elias, 
forms two fine peaks — one of ice, the other of rock ; then running 
down to the mouth of the vale, makes a turn to the south-west, and 
forms the western wall of the Agassiz Glacier. This mountain 
barrier separates the Newton and Agassiz from the Libbey Glacier, 
which pours down into the Malaspina from the south-east flank of 
St. Elias. Both sides of the valley throughout its length are pre- 
cipitous and deeply covered with snow ; even where the cliffs are 
vertical or overhanging the frequent snow-falls leave them sprinkled 
with white patches. Numerous glaciers, piled into semes, cling to 
the steep rocks, as though suspended over the valley, and some 

^ Owing to this division, Russell considers that there are two cascades between 
the lower and the middle terrace, and consequently that the Newton Glaciers t'orm 
four cascades. 

127 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELI AS 

end suddenly in a vertical white wall at the edge of the precipice. Of 
the many peaks crowning the valley, not one seems accessible from 
it ; throughout this vast range of mountains one looks in vain for 
some point of vantage whence a reasonably secure route to the top 
may be descried. The sole exception is the short extent of cliff 
that bars the head of the valley and leads to the base of the 
northern ridge of Mount St. Elias, although at too great a distance 
for us to decide as to its safety from avalanches. 








'^M 







NORTH SIDE OF THE VALLEY, EROM THE SECOND PLATEAU OF NEWTON' GLACIER. 

The Newton Glacier is about eight miles in length. It took 
us thirteen days to reach the upper end. We encamped six times 
on the way, and our average march was a little over a mile and 
a half. We had to contend almost constantly with persistent 
and dense snow-falls, which lasted entire days, enveloping us in a 
blinding cloud that made our surroundings strangely vague. It 
was heavy walking through the powdery snow, in which we often 
sank to our hips, while w^e had to grope our way patiently among 
the great blocks of ice, over snow-bridges, often insecure, and 

128 



NEWTON GLACIER 

amid the incessant roar of avalanches and stone-falls which thun- 
dered down from morning till night on the margins of the glacier. 

The Newton was no less inhospitable to us than it had been 
to our predecessor, Russell, for we had only three fine days out of 
the thirteen. It is hard to say whether these interminable snow- 
falls are owing to the general climatic conditions of the region or 
to local characteristics related with . the direction of the valley, its 
altitude, etc. Mr. Russell maintains that there is more bad weather 
on the summits than on the frozen plateaux at the base of the 
chains. Mr. Topham, on the other hand, asserts that there is 
often a whole day of rain on the sea-shore when the sky is perfectly 
clear over the peak of Mount St. Elias. We ourselves observed 
that the sky always cleared first round the summits, and we found 
less fresh snow on the col and crest of Mount St. Elias than 
down in the valley. We also frequently noticed heavy fogs entirely 
covering the levels of the Malaspina Glacier and its banks when 
all the high valleys were in sunshine under a clear sky ; while a 
comparison of the meteorological observations taken by Mr. 
Hendriksen, the missionary at Yakutat,^ with those taken 
simultaneously by ourselves on the mountain, shows that there is 
more mist and cloud at low than at high levels. 

In spite of persistent bad weather, our days on the Newton 
Glacier were neither monotonous nor wearisome. The scenery re- 
vealed such wealth of colour and form, that every day, in all sorts 
of weather, some novelty was seen, some endless succession of 
unexpected views. The glacier is usually blue — and of deeper blue 
in mist than in sunshine — not greenish, as on Alpine ice-fields. 
This colouring pervades the air, and is caught and reflected by the 
mist, until everything is bathed in a transparent azure. The effect 
is so constant and so marked, although in varying degrees of 
intensity, that this might appropriately be named the Blue Valley. 

Probably the tint is owed to the enormous quantity of snow 
that covers the ice everywhere, even in the deepest crevasses. Duruig 

1 Vide Lieutenant Cagni's meteorological notes in Appendix B. 

129 K 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

our first evening on the Newton, we saw a strange and beautiful 
spectacle. About 6.30 p.m. the dense fogs which had masked the 
valley all day lifted a little, clearing away from the glacier and its 
precipitous rock-walls, and all the head of the valley appeared of such 
a deep indigo tint, that it was impossible to distinguish which was 
ice, sky, or rock. Little by little this colour spread, growing gradually 
fainter and fainter, and tinging with blue, one after another, every ice- 




EAST lilllREbs OF .MoL'M ,■^l. El.lAs. 



fall and sc'rac of the Newton, and the mountains on either hand, 
Avith their glaciers, until everything was bathed in an azure haze. 

The portage of all our belongings, from the Agassiz up to the 
Newton, was only completed on the following day (17th July). An 
icy cold rain, mixed with sleet, was pouring down. The guides had 
returned to Sledge Camp to fetch the baggage left behind there 
the previous day. H.R. H. and Lieutenant Cagni had gone to fetch 
a few loads which had been brought up to the top of the ice-fall, and 
deposited on the snow. Two hours later, on their return to camp, 

130 




< 



CQ 



GO 
< 



NEWTON GLACIER 

great excitement was caused by the news that they had sighted four 
men cHmbing the Agassiz Glacier in the direction of the last camp, 
where our guides still remained. Evidently the strangers must be a 
portion of Mr. Bryant's caravan. More than once we had felt sur- 
prise at finding no trace of the expedition that was supposed to 
be in advance of us, and had divined, what was really the fact, that it 
had ascended the Agassiz instead of the Seward Glacier, following 
the route taken by Mr. Russell in 1891. At about 6 o'clock p.m., 
during a downpour of rain, our guides appeared at last with 
a letter from Mr. Bryant. The progress of his caravan had been 
much delayed by tlie illness of one of the porters, and the con- 
sequent loss of his services and those of the comrade detailed to 
look after him. After climbing the Agassiz to within a mile or two 
of the Newton ice-fall, Mr. Bryant had decided to abandon the 
ascent. Having descried two tents left at the foot of the fall, he had 
gone up there to inform H.R. H. or some member of his party that 
he withdrew from the attempt on Mount St. Elias, and wished 
him every success. After giving this letter to our men and taking 
a short rest, Mr. Bryant started down the glacier with his party. 
We had missed, by a few hours, our one chance of meeting the only 
()th(^r men besides ourselves on the vast icy desert. 

The lower plateau of the Newton was the last place where we 
had rain ; higher up it was always snow. Accordingly, the limit of 
rainfalls in the St. Elias region may be assigned to the altitude of 
4,400 to 4,500 feet. 

The remaining portion of the plateau to be crossed before 
reachinc: the second ice- fall is seamed with huac furrows, and has 
several little tarns ; before long, the glacier slopes upwards more 
steeply, and beyond some wide C7'evasscs, we come to the sc'racs of 
this second cascade. Whether from special atmospheric conditions, 
or from the greater extent of snow-field, those optical illusions which 
are common to all glaciers were manifested on a most unusual scale. 
We found ourselves climbing in and out of troughs of varying 
depths between rugged ice-waves, almost without visual perception 

131 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

of them. In fact, we only realized their existence by periodically 
losing sight of the party ahead, or when, on turning to look back, we 
found our view of the glacier was shut out by some incline we had 
descended unawares. 

The first half of the ice-fall is easy to climb. In some 
parts of it, the sdracs lie in rows, divided by wide furrows, which 
form a direct and easy path between snow-walls rising to about 




SMALL LAKE, AMONG THE NEWTON SfiRACS. 



thirty-five feet. But the numerous crevasses compelled us to per- 
form more gymnastic exercises than were desirable with our heavy 
loads. At last, however, we emerged from one of these icy corri- 
dors on to the comparatively flat stretch of ice, that divides the 
second cascade into two parts. It is seamed by numerous torrents 
flowing between high banks of snow, and scattered with round 
masses of ice, among which lurk limpid pools of blue water. 
H.R. H. decided to encamp on the margin of one of these lake- 

132 




o 



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H 



< 



NEWTON GLACIER 



lets, in a hollow sheltered by snow-slopes. Our march had taken 
two hours and a half. 

A drizzle of sleet went on the whole of the i8th July ; but the 
19th being a splendid day, we took advantage of it to carry up our 
baggage as far as the lake. In the evening, Ingraham and five 
porters appeared with fresh supplies, so H.R. H. detained them to 
give us their assistance in 
moving our camp farther 
on. Excited by the view 
of Mount St. Elias, now 
apparently very near, and 
anxious about the un- 
certain weather, we de- 
cided to lighten our loads 
by leaving the iron bed- 
steads behind. 

We started all to- 
gether the next mornine, 
under a clouded sky and 
in oppressively sultry 
weather. We were soon 
among the sdracs, and our 
route became very pic- 
turesque ; but unluckily 
the varied details of the 
scene proved so many 
hindrances to our progress. We were always either clambering up 
or scrambling down, or squeezing through chilly ice passages, in the 
depths of narrow crevasses, where there was barely room for our 
loads, under dripping snow-cornices. In the faint, glimmering 
light we could just discern cavernous vaults, enclosing blue pools 
of half-frozen water. Beyond these passages, the view was 
bounded on all sides by thousands of white-crested s^racs, forming 
so tangled a labyrinth that it seemed impossible to find a way 

133 




MOUNT ST. ELIAS, FROM THE SECOND CASCADE 
OF NEWTON GLACIER. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

through it. Before lon^-, the fog closed about us more densely, 
and a shout from the front warned us that it was useless to try to 
thread all these intricacies in a blinding mist, and we were thus 
obliged to halt half-way up the ice-fall, on the scanty level of a 
s^rac, barely affording room for our tents. The Americans soon 
started off on their return journey ; while after a hasty meal, we 
sought refuge under the hospitable canvas to escape from the 
unspeakable melancholy of this waste of ice shrouded in cold grey 
wet mist. 

For three whole days we were detained in this camp, in the 




THE TAMr AKTER A SNOW-S'IORM. 



most obstinately bad weather it is possible to conceive. The reso- 
lutely hostile mountain was meeting its invaders in a manner worthy 
of its fame. Snow began to fall heavily on the night of our ar- 
rival, and on leaving our tents early the next morning (21st July), 
we found that the drifts had completely buried stoves, utensils, 
instruments, and numerous miscellaneous objects, left out on the 
previous evening. After a long and patient search, we succeeded 
in recovering all our belongings, and carefully gathered them 
toyfether to avoid losses which miijht entail serious inconvenience. 

The appearance of our camp was now entirely changed. The 
sides of the tents had caved in under the weight of the snow, the 
very pegs were capped with big white heaps, and even the ropes 

134 



NEWTON GLACIER 

were covered with a thick layer of frost. Notwithstanding the 
waterproof qualities claimed for our canvas roofs, the water was 
dripping through inside, and we had to clear off the snow and 
tighten the ropes, to try and put a stop to this very inconvenient 
leakao^e. Armed with axes and cooking utensils, we set to work to 
dig trenches round the tents, and get rid of the accumulated snow. 
But it was falling so fast and so thickly, that almost incessant labour 




CAMP ON NEWTON GLACIER, IN THE FOG. 

was needed to prevent everything from being buried. In a very 
short time there was a bank three feet high round the tents. 

Through the faintly rose-tinted mist one could discern on all 
sides the vague outlines of piled si'racs, bowed down, as it were, 
by their heavy load ; while around the camp the ice sloped 
steeply downwards to invisible depths. Steadily, ceaselessly, the 
noiseless white flakes fell. From time to time the roar of an ava- 
lanche broke the oppressive silence. A flight of stray birds, doomed 
perhaps to perish of exhaustion on the ice, fluttered through the 

135 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

mist, and for a moment turned our thoughts to green woodlands 
and the stir of life. 

Fortunately, bad weather in Alaska is usually calm weather. 
Snow and rain are seldom accompanied by storms of wind. We 
never saw, either in the horizon or about the peaks, the dark, 
rounded thunder-clouds which mean storms,^ nor even a single flash 
of lightning. All night and throughout the following day the snow- 




MOUNT NEWTON AND THE THIRD CASCADE OF THE GLACIER. 

fall continued. Only towards evening, on the 23rd of July, had we 
a few hours' respite. The thick fog-curtain lifted gradually here and 
there ; first, the near sifi-acs emerged, then peaks appeared for a 
moment, soon to be hidden again behind drifting mists, while now 
and then blue sky showed between the clouds. There were continual, 
fleeting glimpses of mountain crests, lighted by an increasingly clear 



1 Mr. Russell had a different experience. At the end of August, 1891, near 
the coast, he was assailed by such violent hurricanes that he was driven to seek 
refuge in the forest, all progress being impossible on the open moraine. 

136 



NEWTON GLACIER 



and brilliant radiance, a succession of pictures appearing and dis- 
appearing as the mists floated this way or that, until at last the 
whole valley lay revealed. The layers of mist, dividing sdracs, 
cliffs, and crests into a series of terraces one above the other, added 
to the grandeur of the scene. Delicate mist-wreaths clung to the 
higher rocks, torn into fringes, and driven hither and thither by the 
breeze. All around us were ridges of ice, and the infinitely various 
and grotesque humps 
formed by the sdracs, 
laden with fresh snow. 
The fleecy burden softens 
every curve, and rounds 
every angle and edge of 
the fissures, so that these 
Alaskan sdracs have a 
very different aspect from 
those of our Alps, which 
are real jjolyhedrons of 
ice, hard and angular in 
form, with smooth sur- 
faces of cleavage. 

Soon the whole val- 
ley wakes to life in the 
sunshine, and avalanches 
thunder on all sides. 
Enormous masses of 
stones, ice, and snow hurtle down from the lofty cliffs, with pro- 
longed rumblings, with explosions and sharp volleys as of 
musketry, repeated by multitudinous echoes. The snow-avalanches 
are the most beautiful of all. Their descent lasts whole minutes as 
they slide down giddy slopes, leaping from cliff to cliff in dazzling 
white cascades, with a dull, continuous roar, testifying to the 
enormous weight and velocity of the moving mass. The entire 
aspect of the mountain walls is sensibly changed ; glittering 

137 




MOUNT ST. ELIAS, AND SERACS OF THE NEWTON. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

ice-needles, and tangled cross lines of fracture break the uni- 
form whiteness of the huge mass of snow. Innumerable furrows 
appear traced on every slope, hitherto absolutely smooth and even. 

The sun sinks slowly until it touches the peak of Mount St. 
Elias, then, after seemingly lingering a while, slowly sets, shedding 
a dazzling light over the whole valley. The air is clear as crystal. 
Peaks of rock and ice, slender ridges frino;ed with snow-cornices, 




MOCNT ST. EI.IAS AND THE THIRD CASCADE Or NEWTON GLACIER (AFTER SUNSET). 



furrowed cliffs, worn by the incessant fall of stones and by the 
great avalanches of ice, all stand out, every detail defined 
with e.xtraordinary clearness. The temperature has sunk below 
zero, and silence reigns once more. In its frozen immobility the 
valley is a symbol of eternal duration, serene and unchangeable. 

At nightfall the mist setded down again, and peaks, preci- 
pices, and ice-falls were enveloped in a shroud of increasing thick- 
ness. Fresh masses of vapour rose from below, spreading in every 
direction, choking every opening of the glacier, every hollow of its 

I. -.8 



NEWTON GLACIER 

flanks, until by 9 o'clock p.m. we were again imprisoned in the 
damp chill of the grey fog. 

We had not been inactive during these days. On the 21st the 
guides went down to Sledge Camp and brought up fresh supplies ; 
on the 22nd, in spite of the bad weather, H.R. H. pushed forward at 
the head of a caravan, and found a track to the second plateau ; and 
on the 23rd, the first loads of stores were transported thither, during 
a short interval of sunshine. 

On the morning of July 24th, two caravans set out in a heavy 
snowstorm, to carry up a good part of the camp material, and were 
back by 1 1 o'clock ; two hours later we started all together with the 
final loads. The snow was still falling thickly, and the refraction of 
the white mist was blinding. It was impossible to realize the inclina- 
tion of the slopes. We walked like somnambulists, mistaking 
shallow depressions for bottomless gulfs, and scraping elbows and 
packs against walls of snow close beside us which we thought to 
be flat ! Climbinor semes or marchinof alono- their edfjes, we 
appeared to one another as shadowy giants on giddy heights and 
impossible slopes, plunging apparently into space at every step. 
One curious phenomenon caused by refraction was that while we 
could fairly distinguish the outlines of sc'racs about 150 feet distant, 
we could see nothinsf that was close to us ; and the illusion was so 
complete that the leading guide occasionally sounded with his axe 
to ascertain if his next step would fall on the snow or into empty 
space. 

Thus, clambering over some blocks, and skirting others, scarcely 
conscious of the way, we reached the second plateau. The deep 
track marked out in the early morning was already snowed over ; but 
the guides showed marvellous ability in re-discovering and following 
up the trail. The leader of the first party groped about with his 
feet for the beaten track beneath the snow ; outside that track one 
sank in to the waist, and all progress was impossible ; while even 
on it the snow lay more than knee-deep. We were divided into 
three parties, leading by turns, for the guide in advance had to 

139 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

work so hard pushing his way through the snow that he could 
only do short spells. 

During one of our brief halts, a guide made the valley echo with 
the typical, long-drawn mountain cry. His voice had the strangest 
effect, breaking the silence of the peaks. An answering cry 
came from Sella, who had remained in the place selected in the 
early morning for the next camp ; and although we were still 
over forty-five minutes' march from him, his voice was as strong 
and distinct as though he were only fifty paces off Soon after- 
wards, the tents already pitched at the new camp came into sight, 
and it seemed extraordinary they should be visible at that dis- 
tance through the mist. It is impossible to judge the extent of one's 
field of vision in a mist, unless there is some dark object on the 
snow to direct the eye. Both snow and air give exactly the same 
impression of uniformly diffused white light. Seeing is no less hard 
than in the dark. Steering is also very difficult, as we proved 
when we tried again to sight the tents after having turned our eyes 
elsewhere ; sometimes, looking in every direction, it took us a full 
minute to discover them, although they were plainly in sight. 

At last, about 5.30, we came up with Sella. A little gusty 
wind had now risen, which drove the snow straight in our 
faces, and we felt very cold. Hurrying on to the camp, we pitched 
the remaining tents on firm foundations of snow, formed by treading 
it down thoroughly. Before long we were all dining together 
under canvas. We were cheerful in spite of weather, for our 
confidence in the success of the expedition was unshaken. The 
slightest lifting of the mist sufficed to dispel whatever doubt the 
inclemency of the weather and the continual fall of fresh snow might 
have awakened. Complicated wagers passed between us as to the 
height of Mount St. Elias, the result of our ascent, and even as to 
the day and hour of attaining the summit. We sat talking on into 
the evening by the faint light of our litde Alpine lanterns. By this 
time there were as much as four hours of real night, and the few 
candles packed with the provisions came into use. The snow 

140 




H 

I 

o 



o 



NEWTON GLACIER 

fell on the tents with a slight crackling sound. To prevent it from 
caking, we gave the canvas an occasional shake from inside. 

As the accumulation of new-fallen snow must have already 
effaced every sign of our track, we began to feel rather anxious for 
our Americans, who would be on the Newton Glacier by now. 
Accordingly, on the morning of the 25th July, H.R. H. sent three 
guides back to meet them, and put them in the right way if 
necessary, while at the same time another party went on ahead 
to explore the third ice-fall. 

The weather showed signs of improvement, with alternations 
of sleet, mist, and sun. The latter was still pale and hazy, but grew 
stronger and brighter every day. After being so long wrapped in 
fog, we now had broken glimpses of the scenery about us. We 
were not encamped in the middle of the glacier, but near its right 
edge, close to the southern buttress of the valley. This spur, pro- 
jecting from the east side of Mount St. Elias, first runs up into 
a fine peak that is an exact copy, much reduced, of the great 
summit ; and then curves round, clasping a considerable basin 
surmounted by an ice-peak tipped by a daring white pinnacle that 
darts up into the sky like an obelisk. This basin, which descends 
to the second plateau of the Newton, contains a glacier which 
scales the walls that encircle it, and covers them completely 
throughout their height. H.R. H. gave it the name of The Savoy 
Glacier. 

The guides sent back by H.R. H. to seek the porters remained 
absent two entire days, and only returned to camp early on the 27th, 
a little ahead of the American party. They had found the latter just 
preparing to go back, after vain attempts to find their way. Besides 
provisions, they brought us a welcome, though unexpected, packet of 
letters from Italy, which had come to Yakutat by a coasting vessel, 
and, thanks to Mr. Hendriksen, had been conveyed by Indians to 
an appointed place on the Malaspina coast. The weather now 
cleared up splendidly, and our anxieties vanished. Early in the 
afternoon we struck camp and all set off, leaving behind one of the 

141 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Whymper tents, one stove, the cooking utensils, and some more 
articles of clothing. 

Our march was a short but very fatiguing one, owing to the 
bad state of the snow. It brous^ht us over the foot of the third 
ice-fall to the real sdracs, where the steepest part of the ascent begins. 
On the previous day a party had gone without loads to beat a track 
through the snow, taking two hours to cover 250 feet of road, and 




SOUTH WALL OF NEW I oX i;LAi:lEK, AND THE SAVOLA (il.ACIEK AT lis LuMLlENCE Ullll 

THE NEWTON. 

had been followed by a second party with part of the baggage. 
Nevertheless, we found it hard and unpleasant work to struggle 
along in deep, uneven ruts, which often gave way under our weight. 
The ne.\t camp was pitched at 7,431 feet, on a narrow strip of snow 
between a wide crevasse and a sheer cliff of scrac about 60 feet in 
height. Fringes of snow were continually breaking off from the 
narrow cornice at the upper edge of the sc'mc, and slipping down on 
to our tent-flaps with a rustling as of silk. Our camp was now 

142 





CQ 

c 
o 

h 



o 




K 
o 



NEWTON GLACIER 



reduced to three tents : one for the guides, one for our party of 
four, and the small Mummery tent occupied by H.R. H. 

The following day, 28th of July, we carried up everything in 
two journeys to the highest plateau of the Newton Glacier at the top 
of the valley. By skirting to the right, round the scrac overhanging 
the camp, we managed to climb the mass, and going on to its 
farthest edge found a 
deep crevasse nearly 100 
feet wide yawning at our 
feet. Fortunately, a nar- 
row snow-ridge projected 
from the scrac on which 
we stood, and slanted 
down across the o-reat 
fissure to the opposite 
and lower edae. We 
cautiously ventured on 
to this slender causeway, 
taking care to place our 
feet exactly in the centre, 
since both sides were 
precipitous and covered 
with loose snow that 
broke away at the slight- 
est touch. The passage 
effected, we made our 
way over masses of ice 

connected by shaky bridges of almost loose snow, most of which 
were either broken or incomplete. All of us broke through more 
than once, but by careful use of the rope no accident occurred. 
Through the great holes with jagged margins produced by these 
stumbles, we saw mysterious azure caverns deep below, of the most 
marvellous blue ever created by snow, with a sheen like watered silk, 
and brilliant, almost metallic reflections 

143 




AMI' AT I hi; I'Hil 01. A ^I,KA^, ON THE THIRH 
CASCADE 01' NEWTON GLACIER. 



At last we emerged from 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

this labyrinth of ice-blocks at the head of the ice-fall in the great 
upper basin of the Newton. At this point the glacier has an undulat- 
ing surface, and we found it so loaded with snow that the crevasses, 
if there were any, were all hidden. This basin is two miles in width 
and about three in length, and is overhung by the walls of Mount 
St. Elias, of the col and of Mount Newton. 

Turning towards the middle of the plateau, we pitched our 
camp within a mile of the outlet of the basin, out of reach of the 




MOUNT NEWTON FROM THE THIKI 



avalanches threatening to fall on every side. We were now at 
8,66 1 feet above sea level. 

Directly over us rose the vast pyramid of Mount St. Elias, 
which had a bulky, flattened aspect, seen thus foreshortened. 
The almost rectilinear north-north-eastern ridge sloped at a moderate 
angle, broken here and there by sc'racs which did not look formid- 
able ; half-way up and a little below three groups of black crags 
break the pure snow-line, while above these the arete rose without 
interruption to a huge buttress of ice, beyond which was the rounded 
dome of the peak. The wall rising to the colwzs rather steep. Save 

144 




o 

5 






NEWTON GLACIER 

for a triangular rock-island exactly in the middle, it was entirely 
covered with snow ; above, and to the right of this cliff, the slope 
was broken up into sdracs ; but towards the left it showed smooth, 
and looked easy of ascent, although not quite free from danger of 
avalanches of ice and stones from the north-east flank of Mount 
St. Elias. 




MOUNT ST. ELIAS, FROM THE THIRD NEWTON CASCADE. 

On the 29th of July, three guides started ahead to pick out 
the way and cut steps up the wall of the col. H.R. H., with a 
small party, returned down to our preceding camp to bring up pro- 
visions. The light mists which had floated all day about the 
mountain sides and peaks melted away in the cool of the evening, 
and a cloudless night began. 



145 



*t 



CHAPTER VIII 
The Ascent of Mount St. Elias 

CALLED up at t o'clock a.m. (July 30th), 
we set about preparing for the penulti- 
mate stage of the ascent. The co/ between 
Mount Newton and St. Elias was to be 



^^^ climbed that day. Thence we hoped, 

^JJ by the long north-east ridge, to win the 

great peak on the following morning. So 

\ confident were we now of success that 

hope amounted almost to certainty. The 

supplies to be taken with us had been 

\ most carefully chosen, and comprised the 

following articles : — • 

Two Whymper tents, ten sleeping bags, rations for two and 

a half days, one petroleum cooking stove, one spirit lamp ditto, 

meteorological instruments, the smaller of Sella's photographic 

machines, Gonella's small camera, and a few extra flannels. 

We started at 4 o'clock, divided into three parties, along the 
route marked out by the guides, who had prepared a track right 
up to the co/ on the previous day. It was a bright, cold morning, 
with a perfectly clear sky. The snow was firm enough in the beaten 
track, but loose everywhere else, and covered with a thin crust 
of ice that gave under our feet. The strip of plateau, extending 
for about two miles and a half ahead to the flank of the co/, lies 
at the very foot of the north-east face of St. Elias. This face 
is rocky at the steeper parts, but showed almost everywhere a 

146 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

coating of ice overlapping its precipices that threatened us 
with formidable avalanches. The condition of the snow warned 
us of this danger, seeing that for a stretch of over one mile it was 
no longer loose, but hardened avalanche snow, which crackled under 
the nails of our shoes, and was thickly sprinkled with sdrac frag- 
ments fallen from a height of over 3,000 feet. Fortunately for us, 
most of the accumulated fresh snow had already come down 
during the past three days of fine weather, and the rest of it 




MOUiNT ST. ELIAS AND RUSSELL COL, FROM THE SECOND PLATFORM OF THE NEWTON GLACIER. 
A. Camp on the Second Plateau. B. Camp on the Third Plateau. 

had had time to harden a little ; but what chiefly served to keep 
the ice safely bound to the precipitous rocks was the intense cold 
of early morning. 

After about an hour's march, the slope of the glacier gradually 
beean to increase, and we soon reached the foot of the clifif where 
the real ascent begins. The wall rises in a series of somewhat 
steep slopes, separated by great transversal crevasses, and varying 
from 400 to 600 feet in height. We zig-zagged obliquely up these 

147 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

snow-slopes, the surface of which was pretty good for long stretches, 
where the guides had found it necessary to cut steps on the pre- 
vious day. The first crevasse immediately beneath the isolated rock 
that projects from the middle of the wall cost us some trouble, 
and nearly half an hour's labour. The first two caravans crossed 
it easily enough by a snow-bridge, but this broke down when 
attempted by Sella, the leader of the third rope. After searching 
vainly for some solid foothold on the snow-vault, the third party 
finally managed to reach the other side by leaping boldly across 

the gap in the bridge. But the last 
guide unluckily dropped his jacket 
as he jumped, and had to be let 
down to a good depth in the fissure 
to recover it. 

Keeping to the left of the 
rocks, we then mounted to the second 
crevasse, which cuts straight across 
the steep incline in such a way that 
its upper edge overlaps the lower 
one like a roof, leaving an interval 
of about seven feet. At a short 
distance, however, along the lower 
side, we discovered a point where 
the edges drew a little closer to- 
gether. By mounting on a guide's shoulders, we managed to get 
safely across, and our loads were hauled up after us. Another 
snow-slope, a last and easily negotiated crevasse, and then, at about 
lo o'clock a.m., we landed on the top of the col. 

Our tents were pitched a little beneath the crest, on the east 
side, facing the Newton Glacier, 12,297 feet above the sea, and 
3,636 feet higher than our previous camp. H.R. H. named the 
col after I. C. Russell, who was the first to conquer it, in 1S91. 

As soon as we reached the col, we turned eager glances to the 
new region revealed to us towards the north-west. At our feet we 

1 48 




CLIMBING RUSSELL COL. 




CO 



o 



o 



K 

.1: 



■A 
O 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

beheld a very extensive level glacier, covered with snow, and with no 
signs of crez'asses; but its eastern and western boundaries were hidden 
from us by the mountains at either side. Beyond the portion front- 
ing us lay an interminable stretch of snow and ice, an infinite series of 
low mountain chains bristling with numberless jagged, sharp-pointed 
and precipitous peaks, where rocks and ice-fields were closely inter- 
mingled. Towards the horizon we had a confused view of some very 
high ranges. We realized that from the summit we should see the 
whole of this region more distinctly mapped out. 

The view to the north was blocked by Mount Newton, which 




.MOUNT MiWrON, !■ KO.M RUSSELL (_' 



now took the shape of a sharp-pointed snow-cone. Just to its left, 
and farther back, we discerned the pinnacled rock forming the 
western extremity of the Logan chain. From Mount Newton an 
irregular ridge runs down to the col, edged, to the north, by a bulky 
snow-cornice, and cut by deep indentations forming the heads of 
the gfullies of stones and ice which score the mountain side towards 
Newton Glacier. The great ridge of Mount St. Elias is of wholly 
dissimilar structure, for being so wide it resembles a slope, and can- 
not be easily identified with the even, straight crest seen from below. 
Viewed from the col, it appears to be broken by projections of 
varying steepness, amongst which three distinct clusters of rocks 
rise above the snow ; while the wide, rounded summit seems to soar 

149 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

upwards at a short distance from the last group of crags, and 
apparently very little higher ; whereas, from the valley below, these 
rocks seemed to stand about midway between the col and the 
summit of the mountain. 

Beneath the Newton and St. Elias ridges the mountain sides 
become precipitous. Masses of snow, ice, and rock, set loose by 
the first rays of the morning sun, thunder and hurtle down into the 
valley with a roar which reaches us distinctly, raising clouds of 
pulverized ice in their descent. 

More than 3,000 feet below us the spacious Newton valley 

descends to the east. At 
this distance the ice-cas- 
cades, with their piled 
sdracs, seem mere tracts of 
rugged, wrinkled glacier 
between the smooth, level 
plateaux. We identify 
all the peaks around us, 
and in the depth beneath, 
the white, flat stretch of 
the Malaspina Glacier, 
bounded by its black lines 
of forest and marginal 
moraine. Beyond, and 
more than 62 miles off, lies the blue expanse of Yakutat Bay. 

The afternoon hours pass rapidly and almost unheeded, and 
the pure cold evening is an omen of splendid weather for the 
morrow. Northwards all is cold shade under a steel blue sky, 
but the rest of the horizon is orange red. Little by little Mount 
Augusta crimsons like a fiery volcano. The thermometer is at 
18° Fahr., and a chill north-west wind drives us to our tents. Lying 
down closely packed in these narrow shelters, we try to get some rest 
to fit us for the last and most serious effort ; but most of us are too 
excited by the thought of the morrow's task to be able to sleep. 

150 




N.N.E. RIDGE OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS, KROM 
RUSSEI.L COL. 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

At midnight we all turn out, and swallow a bowl of hot coffee 
before packing the loads. These consist of one day's rations, a small 
spirit stove, a mercurial barometer, two aneroids, a hygrometer, spirit 
and mercurial thermometer, and photographic apparatus. The night 
is perfectly clear and still ; Venus shines serenely over the summit 
of Mount Newton. The temperature stands at i8° Fahr. We are 
roped in three separate parties. H.R. H., Lieutenant Cagni, the 
two guides Petigax and Maquignaz are on the first rope ; Gonella 



THE REGION TO THE EAST OK MOUNT ST. ELIAS, TRAVERSED BY THE EXrEDITIoN, VIEWED 

FROM RUSSELL COL. 

with Croux and Botta on the second ; Sella and myself with Pellis- 
sier on the third. We are too excited to talk. We feel that we are 
on the very point of realizing the hope which has sustained us 
through prolonged days of toil and through the painful anxiety 
which, during the last stages, kept us questioning the barometer 
or the direction of the wind every few minutes. 

The crest of the ridge where it reaches the col forms an ice 
cliff, which we skirt on the right. The powdery surface snow is 

151 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

very unequally distributed, here and there leaving uncovered the 
harder layer beneath, in which steps have to be cut by the first 
guide. Petigax and Maquignaz go on in front, each taking the 
lead for half an hour in turn, and we all mount rapidly at a 
steady pace. 

On reaching the top of the cliff, we cross to the east flank of 
the ridge running down to Newton Valley, where the snow is firmer, 
being more exposed to the sun. The surface is uneven and 
ribbed, reminding us of winter snow-slopes in the Alps. 

After about an hour's climb, we come to the first rocks, 
which are formed of black splinters of diorite, round which we 
soon make our way through the snow. A little higher up, while 
skirting a fissured hump of ice, blasts of frozen north wind drive 
the powdery snow against our faces. Far above us, the summit is 
gilded by the first rays of the sun, and gradually the great golden 
disk rises to the right of Mount Newton. As we climb higher, 
this summit rapidly sinks, and before long we see its peak beneath 
us, while behind it, and more than twenty miles off, rises the south 
flank of the Logan chain. Towards 5 o'clock a.m. we reached 
the last crags, and speedily surmounted them.^ 

Our ascent was favoured by completely calm weather, and an 
ideal temperature, unusual in the high mountains, neither inconveni- 
ently cold nor oppressively hot. At 6.30, H.R. H. called a short 
halt ; we breakfasted and were off again in half an hour. Soon the 
aneroids proved that we had reached the altitude of Mont Blanc 
(about 15,700 feet), and some of our party began to feel the dimin- 
ished pressure in the shape of palpitation and difficult breathing, 
which although too slight to impede progress, yet sufficed to suggest 
that some of us might be prevented from reaching the summit. 

At 8 o'clock Cagni arranged his instruments and took meteoro- 
logical observations. We were now at an altitude of over 16,500 

1 These crags (about 14,500 feet above the sea) form the highest point attained 
by Russell in 1891. In making the ascent, one does not approach the intermediate 
rock-group seen from below, but passes it at some distance to the left. 

152 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

feet; and the temperature was i6° to 17° Fahr. There was 
an extraordinarily fine view to the east. The peak of Mount 
Augusta, although now beneath our level, preserved its daring gran- 
deur of outline. But the Logan chain to the north was the most 
majestic of all. On our right, stretched the vast, precipitous 
north crest of St. Elias, all rocky save the upper portion, which 
was covered with snow. About midway it is broken by a tower- 
insf eras:, at whose feet a small orlacier descends from the ridee. 
Around us there was nothing but dazzling snow, its whiteness 
just softened by faint opalescent tinges of colour. 

The observations being duly registered, we resume our way up 
the tiring, monotonous slope. Less than 1,600 feet now separate us 
from the summit, but they will cost us more labour than the 4,200 
already won. Almost all of us are suffering more or less from the 
rarefaction of the air, some being attacked by headache, others by 
serious difficulty of breathing and general exhaustion. H.R. H. 
slackens the pace of his caravan, and sometimes calls a halt, to wait 
for those who have fallen in the rear. He is determined to keep us 
all together, knowing the sense of discouragement felt by any one 
left behind by the rest of the party. The ascent is very monotonous 
on the whole and perfectly easy, leading either over the great 
rounded hump of the crest, or along its eastern flank. Luckily there 
is only a thin stratum of loose snow, so that one barely sinks into 
it ankle-deep ; while now and again we strike a belt of hard snow 
in which the leading guide has to cut steps with a few strokes of 
his axe. 

Before long we all experience those alternations of hope and dis- 
appointment which are typical symptoms of over-fatigue. Every 
slope ahead seems as though it must be the last ; every ice pinnacle 
is mistaken for the great gendarme near the top of the crest which 
we had discerned from below. Even the guides make strange 
blunders regarding the extent of slope still to be won. 

Our rate of progress is now of the slowest. We climb for ten 
minutes, and then rest for five or six. One or two of us lie down 

153 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

panting on the snow ; some sit or crouch, while others take their 
rest standing, and lean on their ice-axes. H.R.H., Sella, and two 
of the guides are the only persons showing no signs of distress. 
Gonella suffers from headache ; Cagni, myself, and Botta have to 
fight against the drowsiness which comes over us at every halt. 
The two remaining guides have slight symptoms of mountain 
sickness.^ 

Our legs seem heavy as lead. Every step requires a distinct 
effort of the will, and we get on by dint of certain devices familiar to 
all who have made ascents when tired out — leaning both hands on 
the knees, or planting the axe in the snow ahead and dragging the 
body up by it, while at every step we pause for breath. Still, we 
manage to climb somehow ; we are spurred on by excitement, and 
our nerves are strung to the highest pitch. 

At last, after untold disappointments, a little after 1 1 o'clock, 
a sharp ice-pinnacle soared above us, and to the right of it and 
somewhat higher, the ample curve of a snow-dome. For some 
minutes past no one had spoken a word. Suddenly we all exclaimed : 
"The summit!" Only an ice-slope about 150 feet high had still 
to be surmounted. It was steep, and in our exhausted condition we 
had to attack it in a slanting direction, resting for breath every few 
steps. On reaching the top of this incline, we again came to a 
halt. Before us rose gently towards the west a slope which, in the 
dazzling light, appeared to be of vast extent. We had actually 
passed from the crest to the eastern limit of the terminal dome, 
and scarcely realized that we were so near to the summit. 

The leading caravan started ahead, the two others lagged about 
150 feet behind. Suddenly we saw the leading guides, Petigax and 
Maquignaz, move aside to make way for the Prince. They were 
within a few paces of the top. H.R. H. stepped forward, and was 
the first to plant his foot on the summit. We hastened breath- 
lessly to join in his triumphant hurrah ! 

^ In Appendix C, I have given a more detailed analysis of our " mountain 
sickness." 

154 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Every trace of fatigue disappeared in the joy of success. 
This moment Avas the reward of our thirty-eight days of labour 
and hardship. 

It was the 31st of July, a quarter to 12 a.m. A few minutes 
later, H.R. H. hoisted our little tricolour flag on an ice-axe, and 
we nine gathered round him to join in his hearty shout for 
Italy and the king. Then all pressed the hand of the Prince, 
who had so skilfully led the expedition, and had maintained our 
courage and strength to the last by the force of his inspiring 
example. 

Our excitement was of short duration. Once our object 
attained, we experienced the inevitable reaction after so many 
months devoted to the pursuit of one idea. Nevertheless, it was 
needful to pull ourselves together, and set to work taking observa- 
tions. It was the most favourable hour for them. At mid-day, 
Mr. Hendriksen, at Yakutat, always registered the indications given 
by the meteorological instruments we had left in his charge. There- 
fore it was most important that simultaneous observations should 
be noted on the summit of St. Elias. The Fortin barometer 
marked a pressure of 15 inches 2 lines. With the due corrections 
and rectifications, it indicated an altitude of 18,090 feet, which 
very nearly agreed with the angular calculation made by Mr. 
Russell in 1891, fixing the height at 18,100 feet. All preceding 
calculations had proved discordant and untrustworthy. Only one 
gave an approximately correct result ; namely, that made by the 
Italian navigator Malaspina in 1792, fixing the altitude of Mount 
St. Elias at 17,847 feet.^ 

We had risen 5,793 feet from the col to the summit. The 
ascent had occupied ten hours and a half; but we must deduct 
from this the thirty minutes spent over lunch, and another half- 

1 In chap. iv. I have already given the principal observations on the altitude 
of Mount St. Elias, taken by explorers of that region. I now add the most recent, 
made in 1892-93, by J. E. MacGrath, of the "U.S. Coast Survey," kindly communi- 
cated to us by Prof J. C. Russell. This fixes the height of Mount St. Elias at 18,024 
feet. 

155 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

hour devoted to meteorological observations. During the first five 
hours we had climbed 3,400 feet, at an average rate of 680 feet 
per hour ; and 2,400 feet in the last four hours and a half, at an 
averaofe rate of about 600 feet an hour. 

The summit of Mount St. Elias consists of a spacious plateau 
stretching, with a slight inclination, from south-east to north-west. 
The highest point stands north, and forms a raised platform about 
40 square yards in extent. The temperature in the sun stood 
at 10° Fahr. ; there was no wind, but a light breeze sufficed to 
chill us. We found some shelter a few yards from the top, and 
without leaving the terminal dome. Here we sat down to take 
some refreshment, trying to overcome the repugnance to food 
induced by fatigue and mountain sickness. 

Beneath us, on every side, lay an indescribable panorama, glit- 
tering in the intense mid-day light. Only the Malaspina Glacier 
and the sea were covered by a low-hanging curtain of fog; in 
every other direction the horizon was perfectly clear. The enor- 
mous extent of snow-fields, glaciers, and mountains revealed to 
our sight, surpassed all imagination.' 

Those majestic peaks which two days before towered above 
us, while we were painfully struggling through the snows of 
Newton Glacier, now lay at our feet. We traced along the 
valleys the long course we had followed, while memory recalled 
difficulties and obstacles now lost in the distance. Often had 
we turned longing glances from the depths towards this small 
ledge outlined against the sky, as if imploring encouragement 
from the lofty summit ! 

The peak of Mount Augusta, still imposing, although nearly 
4,000 feet below us, now assumed the form of a huge pyramid, 
turning a rocky face southwards, but covered, on the north side, 
with ice that spreads up to the terminal cupola. Beyond the 
Seward Glacier soars Mount Cook ; and to the left of this another 
and more remote snow-summit, that must be either Mount 
1 Vide the panoramic views III. and IV. at the end of the volume. 

156 



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THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

Hubbard or Mount Irving, but which of the two it is hard 
to decide. From the sea of mist shrouding the Malaspina 
Glacier, the higher peaks of the Samovar and Hitchcocl-c chains 
thrust up Hke isolated rocks. Lastly, in the far distance, to the 
south-east, we distinguish the summit of Mount Fairweather. 

About twenty miles away to the north, and running parallel 
with the Newton-Augusta range, we see the vast chain of Mount 
Logan, the sole competitor disputing the supremacy of Mount St. 
Elias.^ The lengthy crest constituting its summit rises gradually from 




MOUNT LOGAN, l-KO-M THE SUMMIT OF .MOUNT ST. ELIAS. 

west to east, in an almost uninterrupted arete, without depressions 
or deep cols, broken only by a few rocky pinnacles and Ice-domes, 

' Mr. Russell, who first discovered and gave a name to this mountain in 1890, 
assigned it a height of 19,500 feet. J. E. MacGrath gave it that of 19,539 ^^^'^- ^s 
far back as 183S, Topham had already judged that the highest point of the mountain 
system would be found north of St. Elias, having observed that the chief bulk of the 
Guyot and Malaspina Glaciers came down from the region situated north and north- 
east of that peak. From the summit of St. Elias, we failed to prove the superior 
height of Mount Logan ; at so great a distance, observation with the prismatic com- 
pass gave only negative results. Later on, however, during the return voyage off the 
Fairweather coast, we noticed that the Logan peak disappeared from the horizon, 
while the whole terminal cone of St. Elias was still clearly visible. Russell had 
already made the same observation in 1891. 

157 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

and reaching its greatest height in a snow-peak at the eastern 
extremity. After this point the crest makes a sudden dip, run- 
ning on in a series of lesser heights, which, after bounding the 
north side of Seward Glacier, turn in a wide curve towards Mount 
Cook, and are then blocked from view by Mount Augusta. 
Likewise, to the west, the crest falls rapidly, and ends in a series 
of short spurs among the lower hills. 

The southern face of the chain, which is in full view from 
base to summit, is about 10,000 feet high, and extremely wild 
and picturesque. Throughout the whole extent it is composed 
of precipitous crags, intersected by piled glaciers, having the aspect 
of avalanches suddenly checked in their career down the very 
steep incline, and frozen fast to the rocks. Short, low spurs start 
from the base of the great wall, and project into the Seward 
Glacier ; while the numerous ice-fields filling the intervening 
hollows cover the foot of the chain, and run up it in wedges here 
and there to a considerable height. 

The space lying between Mount Logan and the Newton- 
Augusta chain forms the basin from which the Seward Glacier 
takes its origin, and its size is duly proportioned to the great 
ice-stream issuing from it. From the western extremity of 
Mount Loean starts a ridije stretching farther south than the 
others, apparently running into the Newton-Augusta chain, thus 
closing the Seward basin on the west, and separating it from 
another huge glacier that spreads to the feet of Russell Col, and 
of the north and north-west flanks of St. Elias. This glacier, 
of even greater extent than the Seward, forms a vast snow-level 
showing- no fissures on its surface. We could trace its course 
for a long distance westward, without being able to determine 
how and where it comes to an end. The ridge which appears to 
divide it from the Seward is certainly very low, and seems to 
run uninterruptedly between the two glaciers, but it cannot be 
traced very clearly from the summit of St. Elias. As to the new 
glacier now discovered, the absence of crevasses, and the difficulty 

158 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

of distinguishing the real trend of smooth slopes of snow from a 
lofty post, made it impossible to form any decided opinion as to 
the direction of this new current of ice — whether it finally issued 
to the west or the north. Its course seemed to us to lie at about 
the same level as the second plateau of the Newton ; i.e., at 
from 6,400 to 6,500 feet. H.R.H. gave it the name of " Colum- 
bus Glacier." 

The whole north-west region to the left of Mount Logan 
is an unexplored waste of glaciers and mountains, a vast zone 
bristling with sharp peaks and crags, rugged and precipitous to 
the south, snow-covered to the north, and surrounded by vast 
snow-fields free from crevasses, and connected with each other 
by the snowy cols of the mountain chains. The medium alti- 
tude of the snow-fields is about 7,000 feet, that of the mountains 
from 9,000 to 10,000 feet. No words can express the desolation 
of this immeasurable waste of ice, which Russell has compared 
with the ice-sheet that covers Greenland. No smallest trace 
of vegetation can be discerned on it, no running water, no lake. 
It might be a tract of primitive chaos untouched by the har- 
monizing forces of nature. Surveying this strange scene, we 
realized for the first time that we were close to the limits of 
the mysterious Polar world. Such is the region forming the 
north-west boundary of the Columbus Glacier. Numerous tri- 
butaries pour into the latter from the lower hills ; and the most 
considerable of these affluents, running into the Columbus on the 
immediate left of Mount Logan, was named by H.R.H. after 
Quintino Sella, the illustrious pioneer of Italian Alpinism. 

On the far horizon, somewhere between fifty and one hundred 
miles off, a broad summit towered up behind the western corner of 
Mount Logan, which was ascertained by the compass to be at 328°. 
H.R.H. named this peak " Lucania," in remembrance of the ship that 
had brought us to America. West of this new peak, at about the same 
distance and due north of St. Elias, we descried another great 
mountain at 326°, which we believed to be identical with the peak 

159 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

christened Mount Bear by Russell in 1891. Finally, to the north- 
west, some 200 miles off, a conical peak soared up at 311', 
apparently of even greater height than the other two. This was 
christened the " Bona," after a racing yacht then belonging to 
H.R. H. These three peaks really seem to rival Mount St. Elias 
in height, and must approach 18,000 feet in height. None of them 
showed any sign of volcanic activity. 

While we scanned the wide prospect, endeavouring to fi.\ in 
our memory each detail of the wondrous scene, multitudinous 
thoughts and feelings crowded upon us. The labyrinth of dark 
lines, the pure white plains, the chaos of rock and ice, blended in 
our minds with familiar scenes of marvellous beauty in our own 
Alpine world. 

But sheer physical weariness soon unfits the mind for 
contemplation of so much supernatural grandeur. We feel 
vaguely crushed by the immensity ; a desolating sense of isolation 
comes to us from those infinite wastes of ice, and from the solemn, 
oppressive silence of nature. Once the first e.xcitement worn off, 
we are dazed by the radiance of the sunlight striking through 
the cold air ; we suffer from distress caused by the altitude, and 
before long our only desire is to hasten down the peak as fast 
as we can. 

By I o'clock p.m. we had gathered up our few possessions, 
arranged the different caravans, and begun the descent in the same 
order observed during the climb. We had spent an hour and a 
half on the summit. 

Long glissades bore us quickly down the slopes we had so 
laboriously toiled up, and the few crevasses, being mostly filled with 
snow, were easily crossed. A little wind blowing in sudden gusts 
swept the face of the mountain, and assailed us with volleys of icy 
dust. As we drew near to the col the snow was in worse con- 
dition, and we had to plough through it knee-deep for long intervals. 
Nevertheless, we got on fast, slipping, falling, regaining our feet, 
plastered with snow from head to foot, but eager to reach camp, to 

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THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

escape from all that blinding, white glare, into the comforting 
shade of our tents. Between 4 and 5 o'clock p.m. we overtook on 
the col H.R.H.'s caravan, which had descended the great snow- 
slope in two hours and a half 

We had only a little broken sleep that night, and awoke early 
on the 1st of August in a very battered, aching, and stiffened condi- 
tion. The same evening we camped again on the upper Newton 
plateau. 



161 



CHAPTER IX 
Return from Mount St. Elias to Yakutat 



O 




^N the 2nd of August, the morning 
after our ascent of the peak, we 
began the long return-journey without 
even a day's rest. In fact, our downward 
course was no less hastened by the 
wish to reach home than our ascent had 
been spurred by the ambition of win- 
^^^^K ~^~^^^^P "'"§ ^^^ summit of Mount St. Elias. 
'^^^^^^^^ ^^^K ^^^ ^^^^ nature of our task was 

i^^^^^K W totally different. Now, every detail of 

^^^^^ the route was thoroughly familiar, 

whereas, durmg the ascent, every step demanded an alertness of 
mind and eye that kept us on the strain, in looking out for ob- 
stacles ahead, and devising ways to overcome them before they 
were reached. 

Everything had been carefully arranged beforehand to avoid 
delay in the descent. As we had no reason to fear unexpected 
obstacles, our equipment was now reduced to the barest necessities, 
and we were free from anxiety with regard to supplies. H.R.H., 
with wise forethought, had made the porters deposit stores of 
provisions at certain points along the route, carefully chosen 
so as to correspond with the length of each day's march. 
Naturally, the stages were twice or even three times as long as 
those accomplished on the ascent ; so that on the way down we only 

162 




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RE TURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELI AS TO YAKUTAT 

made nine camps instead of twenty-one. But the halting-places 
selected were usually on the site of our former encampments. 

On the 2nd of August, therefore, we left the upper basin and 
went down to the third ice-fall of the Newton. The snow was so 
bad even on the track that we sank in knee-deep at every few steps. 
As all carried heavy loads, the march was both slow and laborious. 
The ice-bridges were insecure and some of them broken down, so 
that fresh passages had to be found across the crevasses. Presently, 
too, the fine weather of the previous days began to change for the 
worse. Great banks of violet-hued clouds obscured the eastern sky ; 
the Augusta chain was suffused with a pale, livid light, as one 
summit after another disappeared ; while Mount Augusta itself was 
swathed in thick clouds, until gradually the whole prospect was 
blotted out. Mount St. Elias was the last peak to vanish. 

We camped on the second plateau of the Newton, near the 
mouth of the Savoy Glacier, where, on the way up, we had left one 
of the Whymper tents two feet deep in the snow. But during the 
past five days of fine weather, the surface of the glacier had melted 
to such an extent that the site of this tent, being sheltered from 
the rays of the sun, now emerged like a small terrace above the 
surrounding ice. 

We passed the whole of the next day (3rd August) in this 
camp, waiting for the American porters and re-arranging the packs. 
About 1 1 o'clock, a distant shout was heard across the misty level. 
Standing outside the tents, we watched with strange emotion the 
approach of shadowy forms struggling slowly up through the 
heavily falling snow. At a hundred paces from us, their leader, 
Ingraham, halted, shouting out, " Did you reach the top ? " " Yes." 
" All of you ?" " All of us ! " Their loud hurrahs echoed through 
the valley, and we again felt the exultation of that moment of 
victory as though it had been scarcely realized before. 

Ingraham had only five men with him. The rest had gone 
back to Yakutat to resume their work as sailors on board the 
Aggie. With the help of these porters, we were able to carry down 

163 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

the whole of the baggage, and so had not to retrace our steps and 
fetch it by instalments. 

That evening the weather cleared again and became really 
fine. The valley slumbered in shadow, while the summits above us 
glistened softly in the moonlight. 

On the 4th of August, after crossing the second Newton 
plateau, we descended the long ice-fall leading to the lower level, 
and proceeded as far as the little lake among the st'racs, where we 
had camped on the way up. The peaks were now wreathed with 
swirling mists that assumed a thousand different shapes as they 
drove hither and thither in the wind. Mount St. Elias towered 
sullenly over the huge cloud-banks hanging about its flanks. 
Still heavier mists clung round the sdracs, pierced here and there 
by rays of sunlight reflected in countless iridescent rays from the 
masses of ice ; while avalanches thundered unceasingly down the 
lofty rock walls. 

The scattered detachments of our party, moving far ahead 
slowly and noiselessly over steep sc'racs, or crossing treacherous 
snow-bridges, bore a strange resemblance to men groping their 
way, and hiding behind boulders to escape lurking foes. 

One day's march from the Lake Camp took us over the rest of 
the Newton Glacier and down to the edge of the Agassiz, where we 
pitched our tents, saluted, as we emerged from the great valley, by a 
final salvo from its avalanches. To eyes still dazzled by the im- 
maculate purity of the Newton Glacier, the Agassiz appeared yellow 
and dirty. We found notable changes in this glacier ; the st^racs 
were less prominent, the hollows less deep, the whole surface was 
shrunken and levelled. 

On the 'Gth of August we resumed the tedious labour of portage 
by sledge. Our baggage was so much reduced that two sledges 
sufificed to carry it. A march of seven hours took us across the 
Agassiz Glacier and up to the Dome Pass, in spite of having to 
manoeuvre the sledges over many transversal crevasses which had 
been concealed under firm snow on the ascent ; and finally we 

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RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT 

went down from Dome Pass to make camp on the west side of the 
Seward Glacier. 

On the 7th and 8th of August we crossed the Seward, and 
descended the valley by the track we had followed on the ascent ; 
that is to say, by Pinnacle Glacier, and skirting the base of the 
Hitchcock chain. The weather was now changeable, slight showers 
of rain alternating with mists and sunshine. But by this time we 
had become indifferent to moisture, and no longer took pains to 
keep our tents dry or make ourselves comfortable. 

We noticed a marked change in the appearance of the moun- 
tains and glaciers. The wintry shroud that enveloped all the slopes 




CROSSING AGASSIZ GLACIER ON THE WAY BACK. 

a month earlier had now vanished away, the snow-fields had 
melted, and the imposing ice-falls of the Hitchcocks were reduced 
to small glaciers flowing down from modest heights. The mountain 
spurs jutting out into the Malaspina were now black, and apparently 
much lower. The lofty peaks which encircle the Seward Glacier 
stood out more grandly and were more impressive in contrast with 
this dark foreground. 

Wherever the melting snow had laid the earth bare, a luxuriant 
growth of flowering plants had sprung up knee-high with incredible 
rapidity, rich in colour and fragrance. Mr. Russell's experience 
was repeated for us, since we too found many different species 
all blooming at once. Here were summer lupines side by side with 

165 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

spring violets and with autumnal asters and gentians. The warm 
season is so short in this region that the plants have no time to 
flower in due succession. 

Even the Seward was considerably altered. The drop in the 
glacier, north of the entrance to Dome Pass, which, on our ascent, 
was only visible for a brief extent on the flank of the north bastion 




FLOWERY SLOPE ON THE HLrCHCOCK HILLS. 



of Pinnacle Glacier, being cleared of the heavy layer of snow that 
had masked its outline, was now seen to be a really great ice-fall, 
spreading across the whole length of the Seward. The surface snow 
ceases immediately below the junction of the Seward with the 
Pinnacle Glacier. Accordingly, the limit of perpetual snow in the 
Mount St. Elias region would lie about 3,000 feet above the 
level of the sea.' Beneath this limit, only irregular patches are 

* According to Mr. Russell (first expedition, 1890), the snow-limit would be 

166 



RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT 

found of old, yellowish snow on the st'racs, which display their bare, 
greenish ice at the sides. Hundreds of blue lakelets are now to be 
seen among the labyrinth of ice-blocks. At the edges of the glacier, 
the two dark lines formed by the detritus- soiled sdracs, which act 
as marginal moraines, are much more marked than before. 

The only spot where we were now compelled to unload the 
sledges and carry the baggage on our backs was the steep descent 
from the Pinnacle to the Hitchcock Glacier. On all the other slopes 




CROSSING PINNACLE GLACIER ON THE WAY DOWN. 

which we had so painfully climbed, bearing heavy packs, the guides 
managed with remarkable skill and strength to get the sledges down 
without removing the baggage, now checking their pace with ropes, 
now executing brilliant glissades, while propping up and supporting 

rather lower down, at the terminal cascade of the Seward, i.e. at about 2,000 and 
odd feet. It may be that the snow-line is now retreating : a phenomenon possibly 
connected with the gradual shrinking of the glaciers in this region of which Russell 
found proof. Perhaps the same explanation would apply to the difference of the 
glacier's appearance and rate of movement, as noted by Russell in iSgo, from our 
observations of the same in 1897, to which allusion has been made at page iii. 

167 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

their cumbersome loads ; thereby exciting the earnest admiration of 
the Americans. Our old track along the strip of snow at the 
foot of the Hitchcock Hills had now caved in to below the level 
of the Seward. 

On the evening of the 8th of August, we camped in a little 
cleft of the Hitchcock Hills/ near the extremity of the chain. 
Our tents were pitched on blocks of old snow surrounded by a 
network of channels which, uniting at the outlet of the depression. 




DESCENDING A SNOW-SLOFE AT THE EDGE OF THE SEWARD. 

formed a torrent running into the Malaspina through a deep gully 
in the flank of the Hitchcock. Looking across the narrow col, 
we saw, as if through a window, the immense Malaspina, about 
620 feet below us, a huge white expanse with a silvery glitter 
and glaucous reflections. 

Early next morning we carried our baggage down to the IVIala- 

' The same hollow to which Gonella and Sella had climbed the previous month, 
when seeking the most practicable route for the conveyance of our baggage from the 
Malaspina up to the Seward Glacier. ( Vide pages 95-97, and the footnote to page 
97)- 

168 



RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT 

spina, and descending the Hitchcocl^ guHy, found ourselves in the 
dry bed of the small lake that formerly washed its base. This 
basin was full of mud and stones, and studded with big lumps 
of dirty ice, which had previously floated on the surface, and had 
been deposited at the bottom as the lake emptied. Hence we 
mounted to the Malaspina moraine, more than half a mile in width, 
which had been covered with snow at the beginning of July. This 
brought us to the bare glacier, where we cast off our loads and 
repacked them on the sledges. At iirst we found the ice cut by 
numerous crevasses, only a few feet wide, and with a rough, uneven 
surface bristling with icicles. Presently the crevasses grew fewer, 
the ice became smoother, furrowed by innumerable rivulets, and 
with scattered holes of varying size and depth, filled with water 
or slush. The thin crust of ice covering these depressions often 
gave way, and plunged us knee-deep and more in the freezing 
water. Some, too, were so broad that it was impossible to avoid 
them, and we had to wade through the water for a considerable 
distance. When packing the sledges, we had taken care to place 
uppermost all articles that would be most hurt by a wetting, 
but it was hard to keep anything dry. 

At about two miles' distance from the moraine, we found a 
fair depth of snow on the glacier, but it was not continuous, being 
often interrupted by wide belts of naked ice. Now and then we 
came to wide, round holes more than 300 feet in diameter, the 
sides of which converged in the form of a wide-mouthed funnel, 
at a depth of about 20 to 30 feet. The ice at the bottom of 
these entonnoirs was of the same character as that on the surface 
of the glacier, and was without cracks or crevasses. It may be that 
these deep hollows in the surface are owed to the falling in of the 
roofs of lower caverns at a greater depth, once filled with water. 
Only an occasional small stone was found on the glacier. 

The weather was splendid, the air fresh and breezy. The 
chains were uncovered and particularly distinct, from Mount St. Elias 
to the heights of Disenchantment Bay. The south ridge of Mount 

169 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

St. Elias stood out clearly, merging into the long chain of the Chaix 
Hills, which, as they approached the Malaspina Glacier, assumed a 
series of strange shapes, which we were long unable to comprehend. 
For their outlines underwent changes before our eyes, assuming 
the forms of spires, belfries, minarets, and architectural outlines of 
fantastic cathedrals, all of which slowly appeared and disappeared, 
to be succeeded by buildings of lesser height, severely rectilinear. 
This proved to be the mirage known as " the Silent City," an optical 
illusion to which this wide ice surface is prone, in common with the 
burning sands of the desert.^ The marvellous spectacle continued 
throughout the whole afternoon. 

In the uniform whiteness stretching around us, the eye was 
continually deceived. Apparently, we could see to a great distance 
— indeed, to the very horizon ; but if one of our party walked 
a few hundred feet ahead, he would disappear out of sight behind 
the neighbouring slope that actually limited our vision. 

Towards evening, we camped in the centre of the glacier. 
Abundance of water was easily obtained by digging a small well 
in the ice. Night fell at 9.30 p.m. On the line of intense white- 
ness bounding the vast plain of ice at the horizon, a great 
yellow moon shed irregular splashes of light through the deep 
indigo clouds massed in the sky. At this latitude the full moon 
does not mount to the zenith as with us, but describes a low 
arc in the southern heaven, and speedily disappears to the south- 
west. 

On the following morning (loth of August) at 7.30, under a 
sullen sky, we resumed our journey over ice and snow, and across 
extensive belts of slush. During the previous day, we had managed 
to keep to our proper course by occasionally discovering some signs 

1 Mr. Russell also beheld these phantom cities, at twilight on the sea, among the 
icebergs at the head of Yakutat Bay. The same phenomenon has been often ob- 
served in Glacier Bay, at the front of the Muir Glacier; and in The Wonders of 
Alaska, by Badlam (San Francisco, 1891), the author gives a full account of it at 
page 130. Possibly, certain marvellous tales reported by prospectors exploring the 
interior of Alaska in search of gold may have been founded on mirages of this kind. 

170 



RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT 

of our former sledge-track. But now all indications failed, and 
H.R. H. steered the caravan by the compass, as on the ascent. 
Soon the air began to thicken, and for about two hours we were 
wrapped in a slight fog that gave signs of increasing. Luckily, 
a few gusts of wind then rose and drove it away, so that progress 
became easier. 

After three or four hours' march, we noticed that the snow was 
diminishing, and that the belts of naked ice were becoming wider 
and more frequent, a sign that we were approaching the brink of 
the plateau. At last, towards i o'clock p.m., on climbing a frozen 
ridge, we suddenly came in view of the marginal moraine and the 
bay. Far out at sea, in the sound formed by Manby Point, we 
clearly distinguished the white sails of the yacht Aggie, that was 
waiting for us off the coast. H.R. H.'s calculations had been so 
accurate that, aided as we had been on the whole by favourable 
conditions, we were able, after accomplishing the ascent, to meet the 
vessel at the very date he had fixed — between the loth and i ith 
of August. 

We felt as joyful and excited as mariners on sighting land 
after a long voyage, and not in the least discouraged by the fact 
that several miles had to be traversed before reaching the moraine. 

The tract of glacier before us was completely bare, and sloped 
gently towards our goal in wide undulations. We hurried over it 
almost at a run, now pushing the sledges, now holding them back. 
They slid along the hard surface with the utmost ease, passing over 
ridges and mounds of ice, leaping cracks and crevasses with such 
tremendous jolts and jars, that every moment we expected to see 
them shattered to pieces. The guides were as merry as boys, and 
flew down steep slopes clinging to the sledges. 

This part of the glacier was of the same character as the upper 
end at the base of the mountains. The surface was seamed by 
countless little torrents of clear water murmuring along beds of 
transparent ice and ending their course in crevasses or in " glacier- 
mills." These " mills " [moulins) are bottomless wells, with mar- 

171 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELI AS 

vellous blue walls of changing shades of colour, furrowed and 
hollowed by streams which dash furiously down them into 
invisible depths resounding with the roar of hidden waters. Now 
and then we come to an empty water-tunnel, piercing the glacier 
obliquely, and more than one is large enough for a man to pass 
through. 

The glacier is either level, with its surface stained by a thin 
layer of mud and brisding with sharp needles and blades of ice, 
or undulating and covered with a crust like white coral, com- 
posed of minute frost-flowers, cut and jagged in every direction 
by the effects of the thaw. The appearance of the moraine was 
so entirely altered that none of us could have recognised the spot 
whence we started on the ascent without the help of the porters. 
The latter, having frequently returned there for supplies, had 
observed the gradual change. On the ist of July the moraine 
terminated in a straight line at the edge of the snow, which covered 
the whole glacier at that date. As the snow melted, long tongues of 
moraine were displayed, from 600 to 1,000 feet wide, projecting at a 
sharp angle from the edge of the marginal moraine, and running 
into the glacier for a mile or so from east to west, divided one 
from the other by tracts of bare ice a mile or two in width. Russell 
names these formations " penniform moraines," and they represent 
portions of " median " moraines. 

About 4 o'clock we arrived at the first of these strips. It ran 
level with the glaciers, and was composed of irregularly mixed 
boulders and stones of varying size, with bare ice between. We 
did not dream of unloading the sledo^es, for no obstacles were now 
allowed to check our course. In a few minutes a sort of track was 
made across the moraine, by shovelling aside the bigger blocks for 
some distance ahead, and we got the sledges along by dint of all 
tugging together. Then we pushed on in frantic haste, leaping 
crevasses and wading all the rivulets and streams in the way, never 
losing time to look out the easiest passage, never once turning back. 
The porters' sledge was capsized, but we righted it on its runners in 

172 




K 

W 

u 

< 

1 

o 
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I— ' 

m 






o 



RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT 

a flash and sped down all the slopes without pausing, barely halting 
now and then to draw breath before a hard bit. The sledges were 
half smashed, the loads disordered and all awry ; but if things 
tumbled out they were hastily pitched in again, without stopping 
the vehicles. 

A second tongue of moraine was soon reached and traversed, 
then another, and we rapidly neared the site of our third camp, at 
the top of the marginal moraine. We passed it without stopping, 
and continued our course along a tongue of ice ending in a steep 
descent towards the nook between the last " penniform " strip and 
the hem of the marginal moraine. The sledges were borne down 
the slope by their own impetus, rapidly at first, still held back by the 
men, but soon to be let go at a headlong speed, and scarcely steered, 
until they were finally brought to a stop by crashing into the big 
boulders at the edge of the main frontal moraine. It was lucky 
their work was done, for they were utterly wrecked. 

By this time it was 6 o'clock p.m., and we had been on the 
march for more than ten hours. We were worn out, but unspeak- 
ably glad to be off the ice. The camp was pitched in moraine 
mud and stones, at the base of some enormous rocks, and close to 
two sledges, empty tins and split flour-sacks, relics of the last 
camp of the Bryant expedition. After forty days in the snow, we 
slept for the first time on stones and ice. In ten days we had 
come down the whole of the glacier zone that we had taken 
thirty to ascend. 

On the following morning (iith oi August) we went down to 
the shore. Retaining only our instruments, personal equipment, 
and a few other things, we left all the rest of the baggage behind. 
At the top of the moraine we turned round to give an affectionate 
and even regretful farewell to our tents. They had become 
very weather-stained, leaky, and tattered, but nevertheless showed 
sturdy fronts, planted down there in the bottom of the gully. They 
had been our home and safe stronghold in the frozen waste, among 
dense fogs, heavy rains, and interminable falls of snow, and the 

173 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

humble little erections — mere atoms among gigantic groups of 
sdracs or labyrinthine crevasses — had nevertheless proved stronger 
than the elements, good, friendly, and serviceable shelters to the 
very. last. 

The moraine was smoother now and less tiring ; but after so 
much marching over soft snow-fields, our feet were unused to tread- 
ing sharp, shifting stones, and we were all suffering more or less. 
But two hours of this painful progress brought us to the border of 
the forest, and we found the tent we had left behind there in perfect 
preservation, with all its contents intact. 

We now followed the bank of the Osar River by the track we 
had taken in the ascent, only the stream was swollen to thrice its 
former volume. Much of the way lay through the forest, where we 
revelled in the greenery, joyfully inhaling the perfume of myriads 
of flowers, or the balsamic odours of resinous trees, and caressed at 
every step by the fronds of gigantic ferns waving about us on all 
sides. It was a real feast for the senses. A thick carpet of soft, 
elastic moss was pleasant to our feet after the scratches and bruises 
inflicted by the stony moraine. The strawberry beds were loaded 
with large juicy fruit, the foliage and clustered berries of the 
mountain-ash were beginning to turn red, and the dwarf-poplars 
were covered with great fluffy tassels full of ripe seeds, for the 
early autumn was at hand. 

Going at an easy pace, we reached the shore about mid-day, 
at the very spot where our first camp had stood. 

The Aggie was under sail, tacking off the coast. After sig- 
nalling her with a few shots, she drew near and sent her boats 
ashore. We immediately began to get our things ready to send 
on board. But, before we had been an hour on the beach, we were 
driven wild by the mosquitoes, which were more numerous, more 
voracious, and more tormenting than in June. They swarmed 
about us in dense clouds, got into our noses, mouths, eyes, and ears, 
crawled up our sleeves and down our collars. Before long our faces 
were like masks, all swollen and blood-stained by the innumerable 

174 




< 

h 

< 



o 

CO 

< 

CO 



RETURN FROM MOUNT ST. ELIAS TO YAKUTAT 

stings, and the vain slaps and scratchings by which we sought 
protection or cure. 

By evening half our belongings had been sent on board the 
Aggie. Meanwhile the surf, slight enough at first, had grown 
rather violent, and just as Gonella was pushing off, a big breaker 
turned the boat bottom- up ; but luckily no one was hurt. His next 
attempt was perfectly successful. Then came my turn and Sella's ; 
and we got off all right at the cost of a good ducking from the spray. 
H.R.H., Cagni, the guides, and six porters remained on shore, 




MOUNTS LOGAN, COOK AND VANCOUVER, FROM YAKUTAT BAY. 

where they passed a sleepless and most wretched night, incessantly 
tortured by their insect foes. 

Early next morning the transport of the baggage was resumed, 
and before long everything was shipped. H.R. H. was the last to 
leave the shore, at 8 o'clock a.m. Our companions came on board 
so disfigured by venomous bites as to be totally unrecognisable. 

We set sail at once, crossed the bay in four hours, and touched 
at Port Mulgrave, facing the village of Yakutat. Mr. Bryant and 
the Rev. Mr. Hendriksen were the first to come on board and to 
congratulate H.R. H. on the success of his expedition. 

175 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

We spent a wet afternoon in harbour, surrounded by canoes 
full of inquisitive Indians. On the following morning (13th of 
August), the weather was superb, and the grand mountain chains 
were all glittering in the brilliant sunlight, as we glided with spread 
sails from the bay we had first entered fifty-three days before. 




CHECKING THE SLEDGE DOWN A SiNOW-SLOPE. 



176 



CHAPTER X 



Back to Europe — From Yakutat to London 

, U R work was done. The long return 
journey, amid the comforts of civilized 
life, proved a welcome rest after our 
experience on the ice. 

The passage from Yakutat to 
Sitka lasted four days, but although 
we were wedged tight as herrings 
on the little yacht, the wonderful 
charm of the scenery made the time 
seem short. Favoured by splendid 
weather, we lived almost entirely on 
deck. Many of us slept there, pre- 
ferring the fresh night breezes to 
the close air below decks. 
As we steered southwards, the peaks of the Mount St. Elias 
group sank gradually lower on the horizon, while the crests of the 
Fairweather chain slipped past us in slow procession. At last, the 
far northern horizon was only broken by the cloud-like white peak 
of Mount St. Elias. On the 15th of August, at 180 miles' distance, 
its summit was still visible above the horizon. Then this too dis- 
appeared in the fading glow of a glorious sunset ; night fell, a silver 
moon rose, and later on the heavens were illuminated by the 
fantastic beams of the Aurora Borealis. 

First of all, a great white glare suffused the northern sky, like 
an aerial reflection of all the splendours of the boundless, snowy 

177 N 




THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

wastes we had left. It lay on the horizon in a broad luminous 
band, shaped in the segment of an arc, and fading off sofdy towards 
the zenith, while bounded at its lower limit by a straight line that 
stood out most distinctly against a background of intensely dark 
sky. Long rays of pallid light, now single, now clustered, darted 
slowly from the upper edge of the zone, while the lower rim was 
continually changing in form. Presently the luminous bow seemed 
to dissolve, and split into fragments, revealing broad areas of 
brighter light here and there, interspersed with patches of darkness. 
These changes were slowly produced by means of a strange flicker- 




SITKA AND ITS HARliOUR. 



ing of the luminous zone, which meanwhile grew paler and paler, 
until the whole dazzling vision disappeared. 

The next day we sighted the cone of the Edgecumbe volcano 
that dominates the mouth of the Sitka basin ; and on the morn- 
ing of the 1 7th August our vessel cast anchor in port. 

Three days later we bade farewell to our valiant American 
porters, who were shipped home on the yacht, while we embarked 
on the Cify of Topeka, the same steamer on which we had sailed 
from Seattle in June. 

Once more we passed through the still channels of the 
Alexander Archipelago, between the densely wooded shores, where 

178 



BACK TO EUROPE— FROM YAKUTAT TO LONDON 

white glaciers glittered here and there against a green back- 
ground of massed pines. Once more we felt the soft, melancholy 
charm of this northern world ; once more passed the shores of 
Columbia, threaded the tortuous straits between Vancouver Island 
and the continent and entered Puo^et Sound. 

The waters of the archipelago, so still and deserted on our 
June voyage, were now crowded by little steamers loaded with 
passengers, horses, and goods, all bound for the North. A whole 
population was emigrating, rushing towards the gold regions of 
Yukon and Klondike. 

Scarcely more than a month had elapsed since the news had 
reached America of the discovery of wonderfully rich gold-deposits 
in the Yukon basin, and 
already in every part of 
the world Alaska was the 
leading theme in news- 
papers and magazines. 
That mysterious, almost 
unknown land had sud- 
denly become the centre 

SITKA KAY. 

of all interest and was 

being invaded by frantic hordes, hypnotised by the mirage of 
fabulous wealth and hastening to seek it, undismayed at the defeat 
of others, or at the sight of victims who had fallen by the way. 

The rush showed no sign of slackening, although the season was 
too advanced to allow any hope of completing the long journey 
before the terrible Arctic winter set in. All the routes, and par- 
ticularly the passes at the end of Lynn Canal, were already blocked 
with emigrants whose progress was checked by the impossibility of 
transporting their outfits over the frozen passes. The more prudent 
remained at Juneau ; others came back thither in despair after vain 
attempts to reach the Yukon that year. The aspect of Juneau was 
totally transformed, and the quiet, regular life of the little northern 
town completely changed. When we arrived there (at ii p.m. 21st 

179 




THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

August), we found the quay thronged with people and piled with 
goods ; the streets were brilliantly lighted and swarming with noisy, 
excited men, panting with wild hopes and anxieties. All the shops 
were still open, while the variety and abundance of their wares 
showed that Juneau had become a centre of supplies for the mining 
world. 

Landing at Seattle on the 26th of August, we found the same 
feverish, .activity everywhere. All business and trade of every 
class were solely devoted to the Alaskan gold-mines. Steamship 
and mining agencies had cropped up on all sides ; large stores had 
been opened, stocked with fur coats, gauntlets, boots, weapons, 
tinned provisions, axes, hatchets, picks and spades, together with all 
the miscellaneous tools and utensils required by adventurers in a 
wilderness where none of the necessaries of life can be procured. 

On the morning of the 27th, we bade farewell to the Pacific 
Ocean and started from Seattle by rail. We chose the Canadian 
route in preference to retracing our steps via San Francisco 
and across the States. 

Our present way ran due north from Seattle to British 
Columbia, through the thick forests covering the greater part of 
Wa.shington State. But there the timber is being destroyed even 
faster and over a wider area than in the woodlands south of Seattle. 
We traversed broad tracts set with thousands of charred trunks, with 
as many more lying prostrate, slowly decaying, and tangled over by 
the luxuriant undergrowth of bushes and berries that springs to life 
in the sunlit spaces between the wrecked trees. In parts where the 
forest was fired some time ago, the trunks have shed their charred 
outer bark, and whole hillsides are covered with ghostly white 
stems. On allsides columns of smoke rise from new clearings, and 
every narrow dale is filled with a thick whitish vapour. By night, 
one sees red flames and flashes, fading off into faintest rose-colour, 
against the darkness above. 

In British Columbia the process of colonization seemed much 
further advanced. Instead of miserable log-huts half buried in 

180 




X 



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> 

H 

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BACK TO EUROPE— FROM YAKUTAT TO LONDON 

brush, at the roots of charred trunks, we found neat little cottages of 
planed and even varnished boards, with spacious verandahs. The 
land is planted with belts of forest between vast pastures, where 
herds are grazing quietly and colts gallop about. 

Beyond the Columbia River, you come to the foothills of the 
Rockies, mounting through wild little valleys which sometimes con- 
tract into wilder gorges. After crossing the chain by a pass over 
5,000 feet high, the line runs for many hours among picturesque 




AMr>M; I III'. lAXAf^lAN RniKIKs. 



crags, some shaped like towers, others soaring to sharp dizzy 
peaks, cleft by deep narrow chimne)-s, and among ridges set with 
spikes and points of every shape and size, from which some small 
glaciers flow down. 

On issuing from the mountains, th*; line traverses the great 
prairie, which has a thin carpet of greenish yellow grass, and in 
spite of its dry, sterile aspect, possesses a melancholy charm of its 
own. The train takes a whole day to cross the waste. The few 
stations on this part of the line consist of a small wooden house, 

181 



THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS 

with perhaps a cowboy or two gallopuig round it, or a few Red- 
skins seated in a ring and immovable as statues. These Indians 
have thin sharp faces and long straight hair, twisted at the back of 
the neck. They are wrapped from head to foot in large blankets 
adorned with stripes and tags of gay-coloured stuff. 

The turf gradually becomes greener and thicker, and more 
cattle are scattered over it. We have reached the edo^e of the 
desert ; we soon behold wide corn-fields, and finally reach 
Winnipeg, the commercial centre of this vast district. 

East of Winnipeg lies the lake region, clothed with low forests 
of conifers and birches, meagre trees with scanty foliage on this poor 
soil where smooth round rocks crop up at small intervals above 
the surface. Among the trees and rocks are countless lakelets, 
filling every natural hollow of the undulating land. The whole 
district still shows characteristic traces of the agency of that great 
continent of ice which spread over Canada during the glacial 
period. 

At Fort William the line touches the northern shore of Lake 
Superior, and runs along it for a considerable distance. The 
expanse of water is so vast that the opposite shore is not in sight. 
The banks are low and entirely covered with dwarf scrub, and the 
whole is devoid of variety and incident. 

At North Bay, on the ist of September, we left the Montreal 
train, and turned south on our way to the United States. Our 
party divided at Toronto. H.R. H. with Lieut. Cagni went straight 
to New York, while Gonella, Sella, and myself crossed Lake Ontario 
to snatch a few hours at Niaafara. 

We left on the following day, after a hurried visit to the Falls 
(thus acquitting ourselves of a debt owed by all travellers to the 
States), and reached New York the same evening. 

At 1 1 a.m., on September the 4th, we sailed from America in 
the Litcania. 

Six days afterwards we were in St. George's Channel, and 
put into Liverpool at 10 o'clock p.m. 

1S2 



BACK TO EUROPE— FROM YAKUTAT TO LONDON 

Our party broke up in London on the i ith of September, after 
four months of comradeship rendered intimate by sharing the same 
hardships, conquering the same obstacles, and rejoicing together 
on the attainment of a common goal. 



-i8;^ 



APPENDIX A 

Equipment 

EXCEPTING provisions and a few minor articles, the entire outfit of 
the expedition was purchased either in Italy or in London, being 
ordered and got together during the months preceding our departure. 
The requisite stock of provisions was supplied in San Francisco. 

After giving an account of the whole equipment, and cspeciall}- of that 
portion of it employed in the glacier zone, I will proceed to describe how 
it was distributed during the progress of the expedition. 

Camp-Material, Personal Baggage, and Miscellaneous Articles. 

1. Five large Whymper tents, of waterproofed green canvas, from Edgin- 

ton's. Two of these tents served to house the reserve stores left 
on the beach and at the foot of the moraine. The other three 
formed part of the glacier camps. 

2. Two small Mummery tents, of the same material. 

3. Five large sheets of oilcloth, to put under the flooring of the tents, as 

a protection from the damp. 

4. Five closely-woven narrow carpets or rugs, to protect the flooring of 

the tents from hob-nailed shoes. 

5. Ten folding bedsteads of hollow iron, 10 inches high. Of these, five 

only were carried with us, as the guides declined those allotted to 
their share, in order to reduce the weight of the loads. 

6. Ten sleeping-sacks 6 x 2i feet, with double wadded linings, stuffed with 

down and covered with strong canvas casings. These were rolled 
and packed in suitable canvas bags. 

7. Two aluminium cooking-stoves. Each of these had two pans : a lower 

one containing the lamp, and shielding the flame from the wind, 
together with a double-lined circular stand fitting into the pan and 
supporting the upper one holding the food. The separate parts all 
fitted into each other, forming a single cylinder 16 inches in height 
and 14 in diameter. The two lamps were on the pattern of the 
Norwegian " Primus " lamp, holding about half a gallon of petro- 
leum. Properly cleaned and attended to, these lamps answer well, 
consume the oil slowl)-, and emit no smell. 

185 



APPENDICES 

8. Two small spirit lamps, in portable aluminium pans, which could be 
kept alight on the march, and used for making tea or bouillon 

with melted snow, without 
stopping. 
9. A rectangular box of enamelled 
iron, with a perforated lid, con- 
taining bowls, knives, forks and 
spoons, all of aluminium. 
10. The personal outfit for every mem- 
ber of the party consisted of one 
change of outer clothing, one 
pair of ordinary glacier boots, 
one pair of boots of double 
thickness, with a layer of rabbit 
skin between the soles, on the 
pattern suggested by the Sellas 
for winter ascents. A good 
supply of flannels, but no furs. 
The latter can only be used 
in regions where the tempera- 
ture is perpetually below zero. 
During thaws, they become 
soaked with moisture, and it is impossible to dry them. Each of 
us had a waterproof coat, one pair of galoshes, and one pair of 
slippers to rest our feet after wearing the heavy glacier boots. 
All these things were packed in waterproof bags. 




COOKINT.-STOVE READY FOR TRANSrORT. 




DETAH-S OF FORTABT.E COOKING-STOVE. 



II. Expecting to have to ford torrents either in the coast zone or on the 
Malaspina Glacier, as all preceding explorers had done, the expedi- 

186 



APPENDICES 

tion was provided with two pairs of india-rubber salmon-fishing 
trousers, accompanied with nailed boots of a special make. 

12. One box containing extra shoe-nails and various carpenter's and shoe- 

maker's tools, etc. 

13. Six pairs of Canadian snow-shoes. As we always found tolerably good 

snow on the lower glaciers , we had no need of these shoes, and 
finally left them behind at Sledge Camp, foreseeing that they would 
be useless on the steep slopes of Newton Glacier. Nevertheless, 
they would have been serviceable in crossing the plateaux of this 
glacier. Our Alpine snow-shoes being smaller, lighter, and easier 
to manage, are better adapted than the Canadian for mountain 
work. 

14. Accessories, consisting of two Italian flags, five aluminium flasks, 

twenty pairs of snow-spectacles, five Alpine lanterns, mosquito 
nettings, etc., etc. 

15. Ten Manilla Alpine ropes, each about lOD feet long, and one lighter 

rope of silk, 160 feet long. 

16. Fifteen ice-a.xes. 



Photographic Equh^ment.' 

1. One camera obscura of 30x40 centimetres, with four double frames 

for negatives, and one rapid rectilinear lens (Dallmcyer). 
Five dozen London plates (Wrattcn & Wainwright), measuring ^o x 40 
centimetres. 

Two of the " negative " frames and four dozen plates were left 
at the coast, and the rest of the apparatus at the base of the 
moraine. 

This camera was only used to take one photograph. 

2. One camera supplied by Ross & Co. (London) of 10x8 inches, with 

twelve double "negative" frames for films. 
One double anastigmat Ross-Goertz lens ; equiv. focu.s, 12 inches. 
One telephoto-attachment, 6.V inches focus (Dallmeyer). 
One ordinary three-legged stand, and one low stand specially adapted 

for telephotographs. 
One screen of deep yellow glass. 

Fifteen dozen medium isochromatic films (Edwards & Co.). 
Five dozen instantaneous isochromatic films (same firm). 
Thirty dozen extra films were left with the stores on the coast. 

' This list is drawn up from notes furnished by Sella. It does not comprise the two 
small cameras belonging to H.R.H. and Gonella, 

187 



APPENDICES 

3. One folding Kodak, No. 5, of 7 x 5 inches, from Eastman & Co. 

(London), with a rapid lens and stereoscopic lenses. Twenty 
sensitive " Kodak spools" (Eastman & Co.) of thirty-two exposures 
each. Ten of these were left at the coast. 

4. One pocket red lantern. 

5. One black tent for changing negatives in the frames. 

Signor Sella notes that the greater number and the best of the photo- 
graphs were taken with the Kodak. All the panoramic views, except that 
taken from the north-east crest of St. Elias, at 16,400 feet, were made with 
the Rcss camera of 10 x 8 inches on " Edwards" films. These films did not 
answer well, on account of the excessive humidity of the atmosphere, from 
which they were insufficiently protected. It was not enough to keep the 
stock of films in hermetically sealed tin or aluminium cases, furnished with 
strong india-rubber rings, but the same precautions ought to have been 
adopted for the negative frames before and after placing them in the camera. 
And for additional securitj^ the boxes should contain some hygroscopic 
substance. The sensitive ribbon of the Kodak has the advantage of being 
immediately rolled round a small cylinder after every e.Kposure, so that the 
surface exposed is protected from damp by the impermeable celluloid ribbon 
itself According]}', the Kodak seems the best photographic machine for use 
in very humid climates. 

The meteorological instruments and sanitarv- supplies are described in 
Appendices li and C. 

The expedition was provided with a small stock of utensils for making 
naturalist collections : such as pots and tubes for preserving specimens in 
alcohol, arsenical paste for preparing skins, nets for capturing insects and 
filtering mud ; pressing paper for botanical collections, a mineralogical 
hammer, etc. These materials would have been very useful had the ex- 
pedition been unexpectedly detained in the forest zone. But as we spent 
the whole of our time on the ice, devoting our energies to carrj-ing out our 
enterprise as quickly as possible, there was no time to think of forming 
botanical and zoological collections on the lower spurs of the chains. So all 
our materials, excepting the hammer, were left down at the coast. On our 
return, we profited by the comparatively fair state of the sea to hasten on 
board, for we knew that, even at our landing-place, the violence of the surf 
often made it impossible to bring boats inshore for weeks at a time. 

The following table gives a list of all the articles of our glacier equip- 
ment, with their relative weights : — 



iSS 



APPENDICES 





Weight of 

each separate 

article. 


Total 
weight. 


3 Whymper tents 


lbs. 
33 


lbs. 
99 


2 Mummery tents 














14 


28 


5 Oilcloths for tent floors . 














7 


35 


5 Rugs for the tents . 














4 


20 


5 Folding iron bedsteads . 














14 


70 


lo Feather sleeping-sacks . 
2 Aluttiinium cooking-stoves 
2 Portable spirit lamps 
I Iron case of kitchen utensils 














lO 

3 


100 

30 

6 

30 


12 Bags containing our own and the guides' clothes 










575 


2 Pairs of salmon-fishing trousers and boots . 










50 


Flasks, spectacles, lanterns, flags, etc. . 
I Box of shoe-nails, tools, etc 










5 
30 


6 Pairs of Canadian snow-shoes 










10 


10 Alpine ropes of loo feet and i silk rope 










50 


Photographic equipment 
Meteorological instruments 
Sanitary supplies . 
















90 
40 
40 



Total . 



1,308 lbs. 



Provisions. 

In the course of the narrative, frequent reference is made to the rations 
of food. The supplies were divided into fifty rations, each of which contained 
one day's allowance for the whole party, guides included. Each ration con- 
sisted of one tin, hermetically soldered, and measuring 45 x 35 x 25 centim., 
and one canvas bag containing those articles of food which were supplied to 
us in tins. The total weight of each day's ration was 53 lbs., and consisted of 
the following articles : — 



Contents of the Tin. 

Forty Navy biscuits. 

3 lbs. of Italian paste for soup. 

1 pot of Liebig's extract. 

10 capsules of soup extract, each making a cupful. 

2 lbs. of cheese. 

2 lbs. of lump sugar. 

I lb. of powdered sugar. 

I lb. of chocolate tablets. 

\ lb. of coffee, roasted and ground. 

\ lb. of tea. 

189 



APPENDICES 

I lb. of dried fruits. 

J lb. of salt. 

I small pot of pepper. 

I small pot of English mustard 

h pint of pure olive oil. 

f pint of rum. 

4 candles. 

I box of matches. 

1 piece of soap. 

Co>itciits of the Canvas Bag. 

2 lbs. of compressed beef 
2 lbs. of corned beef. 

2 lbs. of tongue, ham, or salmon (in turn). 

2 lbs. of preserved vegetables. 

I lb. of fine table bacon. 

I tin of condensed cream. 

I tin of condensed milk. 

I lb. of preserved fruit. 

I lb. of salt butter. 

1 lb. of melted butter. 

.\ gallon of petroleum. 

I tin of tallow for shoes. 



Twenty of the fifty rations were rather differently made up, that is to 
say, the paste for soup was replaced by ten more biscuits, and another pound 
of sugar ; and in the respective bags, four tins of English soups, one tin of 
kola biscuits, and one quart of spirit for the small stoves, took the place of 
preserved vegetables. 

These twenty rations had been specially prepared for use at the higher 
stages of the ascent. But from the nature of the region traversed, the condi- 
tions of existence and climate varied so slightly throughout the expedition 
that there was no real need to alter the character of the rations. 

In addition to the fift>' rations, we left ten tins of biscuits at the depot 
on the coast; and there was a reserve of 500 lbs. of biscuits on board the 
Aggie, which could have been landed easily in case of need. 

The compositions of the rations will show that they were prepared with 
a view to the cold climate one might have expected to find among those vast 
glaciers. But as we were constantly favoured with relatively mild weather, 
it would have been better to have had less heat-producing and saccharine 
aliments, and a larger stock of farinaceous food. Nevertheless, the rations 
answered very well as they were. 

190 



APPENDICES 

On leaving the Malaspina moraine our baggage weighed as follows ! — 



Outfit and camp material for selves and guides . , 1,308 lbs. 

Sixteen rations of food 848 „ 

Equipment and supplies of the American porters . . 990 „ 

Total weight . . . . 3,146 ,, 



In round figures, we had a weight of 3,000 lbs. divided between four 
sledges, drawn by sixteen men ; that is, 187 lbs. to each man, reaching over 
200 lbs. including the weight of the sledges. 

In spite of the heaviness of the loads, and the bad state of the snow, we 
crossed the Malaspina Glacier in three days, at 
a medium rate of seven miles the day. 

The sledges were built at Seattle, on the 
pattern of those used for Polar expeditions, and 
better adapted for travelling ever ice than on 
snow.^ 

Certainly, however, had they been lighter 
and less substantial they could not have stood 
the severe jolts and shocks to which they were 
subjected in passing over the rugged ice of the 
Malaspina on the way back, when most of the 
snow had disappeared from its surface. 

It might have been useful to have had 
sledges of an intermediate pattern between these 
and the very light variety, with wide runners, 
used by Italian mountain-folk for carrying goods 
over the winter snow-drifts in the Alps. 

In our upward progress from Indepen- 
dence Camp, the weight of our baggage steadily 

diminished both from the daily consumption of stores and the detachment 
of small parties with due shares of camp material and provisions. But 
this system of division had the disadvantage of depriving us of the porters' 
assistance exactly when the difficulties of the way increased the labour of 
transport by frequently interrupting the course of the sledges. Con- 
sequently the baggage had to be subdivided and carried on in several 
instalments. 

At the mouth of the Newton Valley we were forced to leave part of the 
stores behind, for as everything had then to be carried on our backs, the 
weight of the entire outfit would have retarded our progress too much. 
Accordingly the baggage was continually lightened as we went on. 

' The sledyes are described on page 82, chap, v., and their inconveniences re- 
counted. 

191 




■SELLA SHOULDER- PACK. 



APPENDICES 

For carrying our shoulder-loads, we used light wooden frames such as 
Sella had successfully employed in the Caucasus. We had twenty of these 
with us. Loads of every size and shape can be easily fi.xed on them, the 
weight is comfortably balanced and divided between the shoulders and back, 
does not impede the breathing, and leaves the arms perfectly free. 

In conclusion, the following table will show how the baggage was par- 
celled out, without reference to the weight of the provisions, which varied 
continually according to the rate of consumption or replenishment. 



Places where we left depots. 



Weight of the baggage. 



Left behind. 



Carried on. 



Oil the Malaspina Glacier 

Ai Independence Camp : 

The waterproof fishing trousers . 
Af Sledge Camp {at the base of Newton Glacier) 

Canadian snow-shoes . 

Part of the medicinal stores 

Part of the photographic apparatus 

Waterproofs and clothes 

Alpine ropes .... 

Bo.K of tools, nails, etc. 



Half -way up the second Newton Cascade . 
Five iron beds .... 
Personal luggage .... 



At the camp on the second plateau of the Newton 
One Whymper tent 
One oilcloth .... 
One petroleum cooking-stove 
One spirit lamp cooking-stove 
Box of kitchen utensils. 
Personal luggage . 



On the third Newton Cascade : 
One Mummery tent 
Photograoher's black tent 



lbs. 



5° 

lo 

15 

20 

217 

20 



3': 



70 
150 



33 
7 

15 
3 

30 
100 



188 



14 
14 

28 



lbs. 

1,308 

1,25s 



946 



726 



538 



510 



192 



APPENDICES 



Places where we left depots. 



Al /he camp at the base of Russell Col : 

One Mummeiy tent .... 

Four oilcloths 

Five tent rugs 

Articles of clothing .... 
Alpine ropes ..... 

.Some of the meteorological instruments 
Photographic materials 
Sanitary stores ..... 



Left on Russell Col : 

Two Whymper tents . 

Ten sleeping-sacks 

One petroleum cooking-stove 



Weight of the baggage. 



Left behind. 



lbs. 

14 
28 
20 
80 
10 
3 



205 



66 

100 

'5 



181 



Carried on. 



lbs. 



305 



124 



All the stores left behind at different points were picked up on our 
return, excepting certain unnecessary articles discarded among the glaciers. 



IQ3 



APPENDIX B 

Meteorological Observations 

By Lieutenant Umberto Cagni, R.I.N. 

THE meteorological equipment of the expedition consisted of the fol- 
lowing instruments : — 

One Mercurial Fortin Barometer, 40 inches in length, with graduated 
scale from 13 to 32 inches. 

One Mercurial Fortin Barometer, specially made for high mountains, 30 
inches in length, with graduated scale from 10 to 22 inches. This instrument 
weighed | lb. less than the other. 

One Aluminium Aneroid Barometer of special make, graduated from 12 
to 31 inches (Simms, No. i486). 

One Thermometer in a metal case annexed to the preceding instrument. 

One Aneroid Barometer, graduated in feet and from iS to 31 inches; 
there was, however, no check to the indicator, and under the pneumatic pump 
it would work well down to 13^ inches. 

One Hypsometer or boiling point Thermometer. 

One Psychrometer. 

One Hair Hygrometer. 

Two Spirit Thermometers. 

Two Mercurial Thermometers. 

One pocket Aneroid Barometer, four small common Compasses, one 
pocket Prismatic Compass, and one pocket Sextant. 

All the instruments were verified and regulated before and after the 
journey. 

Two days before our start from San Francisco, we learnt that no baro- 
meter was to be found at the Yakutat Mission, which was to have served as 
a lower station for observations. Accordingly, a barometer of the Gay-Lussac 
pattern was purchased to leave there. On reaching Yakutat, we found that 
the house in which the observations were to be taken was so very low down 
— only 24 feet above the level of the sea — that the barometric height on the 
spot would have to be read off from the upper portion of the nonius, opposite 
to the reading-needle. So, to prevent mistakes, we left the Fortin barometer 
with the missionary, the Rev. Mr. Hendriksen, and took the Gay-Lussac with 
us. Convenience made us fix, for taking our observations, the hours of 8 a.m., 

194 



APPENDICES 

12, and 8 p.m., when the Rev. Hendriksen registered them for the American 
expedition to Mount St. Elias that had started a fortnight in advance of us, 
led by Mr. Bryant. In this way we gained also the advantage of comparing 
the two series of observations. 

Owing to the subsequent arrangement of our marches, no other set of 
hours would have been so convenient as these proved to be. 

The Fortin barometer, besides its usual leather cover, was additionally 
protected by an outer case of rough wood lined with straw, on the plan 
adopted by Mr. Whymper in Alpine ascents. Our success in carrying the 
instrument uninjured to the summit of Mount St. Elias is entirely due 
to these precautions. The other mercurial barometer of the Gay-Lussac 
pattern, having only a solid leather case, came to grief after one month's 
travel, at the first difficult stage of the mountain. Both the Fortin and Gay- 
Lussac were carried in our shoulder-packs together with other things ; the 
two aneroid barometers in their leather cases were slung round our necks. 
One of these two barometers was spoiled after a time, owing to one of the 
inner screws getting displaced and impeding the movement of the needle. 

The thermometers, hygrometer, psychrometer, and pocket aneroid were 
all carried in a suitable leather case, which was also fitted with note-books, 
pencils, compasses, a graduated circle, and a small parallela. As the baro- 
meter always worked regularly, the hypsometer was never used. 

The total weight of the instruments amounted to 40 lbs., divided as 
follows : — 

lbs. 

One Fortin barometer with case and bo.v 15 

One Gay-Lussac barometer and case ....... 8 

Case of thermometers, hygrometers, etc 9 

Two aneroid barometers, thermometer, sextant, one box compass . 6 
One hypsometer .2 

As a rule, all the observations were taken by the same person and at the 
prescribed hours ; but a few interruptions unavoidably occurred during our 
marches. 

On the return journey, from the 4th of August onwards, owing either to 
the lack of a mercurial barometer, or to the brevity and irregularity of our 
halts, we contrived to take only a few observations at the hours correspond- 
ing with those at Yakutat, and accordingly it was not worth while to register 
them. The amount of small hindrances with regard to the proper regulation 
of the instruments and in taking observations went on increasing as we 
mounted from the plain to the higher slopes. We could find no ineans of 
protecting the instruments from the radiation of the deep layer of snow and 
ice on which forty-two days of the expedition were spent. At first we 
carried three extra tent-poles, from which, arranged as a three-legged support, 
we were able to suspend the instruments at about 3.J feet above the frozen 
surface ; but soon, as it proved impossible to divide the poles in two, the 

195 



APPENDICES 

difficulty of transporting them at full length compelled us to leave them 
behind. Subsequently we hung the instruments on the outer staying- rope 
of a tent, or on a small, metal, three-legged stand attached to the barometer 
case ; but the first method had the disadvantage of keeping the instrument 
near the tent, and the other, that the little stand generally sank into the snow, 
so that the barometer was only a few inches above the surface. While it was 
difficult to shield the instruments from the sun, it was not easy to protect 
them from rain and snow. A waterproof cape served to cover the barometer, 
hygrometer, and the maximum and minimum thermometers. But our absence 
from camp throughout the day prevented any continuous superintendence 
of our little observatory, and often the very shelter provided for it proved in- 
jurious to the proper action of the instruments. A little wind sufficed to set 
the maximum and minimum thermometers swinging, and alter their readings. 
Sometimes, it was necessary to take observations when the instruments — some 
or all of them — had been long exposed to the sun. The aneroids, with their 
accompanying thermometer, were usually hung with the other instruments, 
but in rainy weather, particularly on the Newton Glacier, they were consulted 
in a tent. All this will explain certain anomalies in our observations, and the 
great divergences now and then found in temperatures read at the same 
moment, and which had to be regularly registered in order to rectify the 
instruments. For one week we made use of the psychrometer, but then it 
was broken. Nevertheless, the few observations obtained served to verify the 
correction-table of the hygrometer, which on being re-calculated, after our 
return, was found to be unaltered. The observations taken on the summit 
of Mount St. Elias were quite accurate, although there was no possibility of 
protecting the instruments from the midday sun. 

As the ascent of Mount St. Elias was the main object of our journey, all 
else was made subordinate to it. Both time and strength were continually 
absorbed in the task of climbing, bringing up stores, and planting successive 
camps with the quickest possible speed. Also, frequent fogs and bad weather 
contributed to prevent us from carrying out a regular succession of angular 
and azimuthal observations ; accordingly we have only reported those taken 
on the summit of Mount St. Elias and from Russell Col. On the other hand, 
it was deemed advisable to give the entire contents of our meteorological 
note-books, considering that, presented in this form, the observations regis- 
tered may be of some use to specialists of the subject. In all these obser- 
vations instrumental deviations are rectified. 

In the thirteenth column, a register is given of the previously corrected 
medium readings of the two mercurial and spirit thermometers. The maxi- 
mum and minimum temperatures noted refer to the twelve hours' interval 
preceding the observation, when the latter was taken at 8 a.m., but refer to 
a previous interval of four or eight hours only, if the observation was taken at 
midday or 8 p.m. 

The force of the wind is registered on the Beaufort scale (from o to 12). 

196 



APPENDICES 

The cloudiness of the sky (nineteenth column) is registered on the scale 
from o to I o. 

The altitudes of the different camps were measured by means of the 
Denza tables, calculated on the Laplace formula, and the figures given indi- 
cate the medium of the various heights attained, with the barometric variations 
found at each spot. 

On the other hand, the altitude of Mount St. Elias was calculated accord- 
ing to Senator Siacci's formula, published in 1897.' 

When calculating the altitude of the nineteenth and twentieth camps, the 
absence of mercurial-barometer readings obliged us to use the indications 
of atmospherical pressure afforded by the " Simms " aneroid barometer. No. 
i486, which are considered to be fairly accurate. 



Meteorological Tables and Altitudes. 

Note. — All the numbers were originally calculated on the decimal system. The 
reduction to English measures was made according to the following values : — 
Temperatures: 1° €. = (1.8-1-32)° Fahr. 

Barometer readings: given in inches and lines, r inch being ='0254 metre. 
Altitudes: i foot = '3048 metre. 



' Vide Atti della Reah Accadonia dclle Scienze fisiche e fnaleriali di Nopoli, \ol. X'lH. 
2nd series, No. 1 1. 



197 











APPENDICES 










TE. 


OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY REV. HENDRIKSEN AT THE 
MISSION OF YAKUTAT (24 feet above the level of the sea). 




DA 




MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER. 


PSYCHRO- 
METER. 




Sky and 
Atmosphere. 










Hour. 


Read- 
ings. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Dry 
Thermo- 
meter. 


Wet 
Thermo- 
meter. 


Wind. 


Locality. 


Hour. 


June 


24 


-- 


— 


— 


- 


— 


— 


— 


ist Camp 

W. shore of Yakutat Bay. 


8.30 a.m. 
I p.m. 






— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 




8 p.m. 


J? 


25 


8 a.m. 


30.0 


54-14 


51. So 


49.10 


vv. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 






12 noon 


30.0 


55-40 


50.90 


47-30 


w. 


Cloudy 




12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.11 


54.14 


51.26 


46.40 


w. 


Cloudy 


2nd Camp 

At the foot of the moraine. 


8 p.m. 


)i 


26 


8 a.m. 


29.11 


54.68 


52-70 


50.54 


w. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 






12 noon 


29.11 


56.84 


52-34 


51.56 


w. 


Clear 




12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.11 


61.34 


59-20 


55.40 


w. 


Clear 




8 p.m. 


» 


27 


8 a.m. 


29.11 


54.68 


50.90 


48.20 


w. 


Foggy 




8.30 a.m. 






12 noon 


29.11 


59.18 


54.86 


52.34 


w. 


Clear 




2 p.m. 






8 p.m. 


29.11 


61.88 


55.40 


51.98 


w. 


Cloudy 




8 p.m. 


» 


28 


8 a.m. 


29.11 


56.48 


54-50 


52.70 


w. 


Foggy 




S a.m. 






12 noon 


29.11 


58.64 


54-50 


43.80 


w. 


Foggy 




12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.11 


61.88 


55-76 


53.60 


w. 


Clear 




8 p.m. 


)i 


29 


8 a.m. 


29.1 I 


58.28 


53.60 


50.90 


w. 


Foggy 


— — 


— 






12 noon 


29.11 


59-54 


54-50 


53.06 


w. 


Clear 


— — 


— 






8 p.m. 


29.10 


60.98 


55-94 


52.16 


w. 


Cloudy 


3rd Camp 

At the top of the moraine. 


8 p.m. 


}■> 


30 


8 a.m. 
12 noon 


29.8 
29.8 


56.48 
57-38 


53-96 
53-24 


51.26 
50.90 


N. 

w. 


Foggy 
Cloudy 


4th Camp ' 

At the top of the moraine. 

few liundred feet from the 

preceding one. 


8 a.m. 
12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.7 


65.48 


57-56 


54.50 


w. 


Cloudy 




8 p.m. 


July 


I 


8 a.m. 


29.5 


54-68 


51-44 


50.00 


w. 


Foggy 


— — 


- 






12 noon 


29.5 


56.48 


52.70 


50.90 


w. 


Clear 


5th Camp 

On thi.- Malaspina Glacier. 


12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.5 


60.08 


58.64 


53.60 


w. 


Clear 




8 p.m. 


») 


2 


8 a.m. 


29.1 I 


62.78 


56.30 


54-50 


w. 


— 


— — 


— 



198 



APPENDICES 



OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY THE EXPEDITION. 



MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER. 


Mean 
Tempera- 
ture of 
the Air. 


THERMO- 
METER. 


HYGRO. 
METER. 


Wind. 


Sky. 


Atmosphere. 




Read- 
ings. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini- 
mum. 


Hun- 
dredtlis 
of Satu- 
ration. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Altitude. 


30.0 


51.80 


49.64 


— 


— 


65.0 


54.68 


— 


Cloudy 


Foggy 

Abundant dew. 




30.0 


60.26 


59-54 


66.20 


50.0 


53.0 


64.4 


— 


Cloudy 


Clear 




30.0 


55.40 


50.36 


59-72 


47.4S 


65.0 


51.44 


N.N.E.i 


Cumtilus 3 


Clear 


■5 


30.0 


52.88 


48.20 


— 


— 


79.5 


51.62 


N.W. I 


Cloudy 


Dark 




30.0 


54-14 


49.46 


54.50 


44.60 


67.5 


51.44 


N.W. 2 


Cloudy 


Dark 




29.11 


46.40 


46.58 


53.60 


44.60 


65-5 


48.20 


N. I 


Cumulus 3 


Dark 




29.11 


52.70 


51.80 


52.52 


42.26 


51.0 


53.96 


N. I 


Clear 


Clear 




29.11 


59.00 


54-54 


— 


46.40 


50.5 


53.96 


N. 1 


Clear 


Clear 




29.10 


50.00 


50.00 


— 


46.40 


65.0 


50.0 


— 


Stratus 2 


Foggy 




29.11 


56.30 


54-54 


62.60 


41.90 


57.0 


50.54 


— 


Clear 


Clear 




29.11 


60.44 


60.80 


62.06 


53.60 


54.5 


59.36 


N.E. 2 


Stratus 3 


Clear 


■47 


29.10 


51-44 


51.80 


73.40 


42.44 


58.0 


51.44 


N.W. 2 


Stratus 2 


Clear 




29.11 


51-98 


51.26 


51.80 


41.0 


59.0 


51.44 


N.W. I 


Cumulus 9 


Dark 




29.11 


60.08 


57.06 


56.82 


50.0 


59.8 


59.0 


— 


Cumulus 5 


Clear 




29.11 


53.06 


50,90 


62.60 


50.0 


53.0 


51.98 


— 


Clear 


Foggy 




— 


— 


— 


~ 


— 


-- 


— 


— 


— 


— 




29-3 


37-40 


37.76 


— 


— 


76.0 


37.94 


— 


Clear 


Foggy 


512 


29.1 


— 


39.20 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


Foggy 




29.1 


42.80 


42.80 


— 


— 


— 


— 


N.W. I 


Cirrus 2 


Foggy 


■SSI 


28.11 


37-40 


37-94 


— 


— 


693 


39-02 


N.W. I 


— 


Foggy 




28.3 


48.20 


46.04 


— 


— 


52-3 


44.96 


— 


Cumulus 6 


Dark 




28.4 


40.64 


41.0 


53.60 


37.40 


76.0 


39.74 


N. I 


Cirrus 6 


Foggy 

Abundant dew. 


1,007 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— • 


— 









199 



APPENDICES 



OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY REV. HENDRIKSEN AT THE 
MISSION OF YAKUTAT (24 feet above the level of the sea). 



DATE. 



July 



12 noon 
8 p.m. 
8 a.m. 

12 noon 

8 p.m. 

8 a.m. 
12 noon 

8 p.m. 

8 a.m. 
12 noon 

8 p.m. 

8 a.m. 

12 noon 



MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER. 



Read- 
ings. 



Tempera- 
ture. 



8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 



29.9 
29.9 

29.1 1 
29.1 1 

30.0 
30.0 

30.1 
30-1 

3"-' 

311 

3I-' 
ji-i 
31-1 

3'-i 
3'i 
3I-I 
31-I 
30.0 

30.0 
30.1 
30.0 
30.0 

30.0 
30.0 
29.11 



59.18 
60.98 

57.38 
56.48 

56.48 

55-94 
62.44 
58.S8 
55.58 
55.58 

52.88 
56.S4 
55.58 

54.68 
54.68 
57.3S 
56.48 
5558 
56.48 
57.38 
58.28 
63.68 

65.48 
60.08 
63.68 



PSYCHRO- 
METER. 



Dry 
Thermo- 
meter. 



57.56 
56.12 
54.50 
54.50 

54.50 
54.62 

53.60 
53.96 
53.96 
54.62 

51.22 
50.90 
52.61 

51.80 
52.61 
53.96 
53.96 
53.60 

54.86 
57.20 
55.40 
59.90 

60.26 
56.30 
59.0 



Wet 
Thermo- 
meter. 



56.10 
5396 
53.96 
50.90 

51.80 
50.90 
51.22 
51.80 
51.80 
51.22 

50.0 

50.36 

52.61 

50.0 

51.80 

51.80 

50.0 

50.0 

50.36 
53.60 
51.80 
54.86 

55.40 
52.61 
53.60 



Wind. 



N. 
W. 
E. 

s.w. 

w. 
s.w. 
w. 
w. 
w. 
w. 

w, 
w. 
w. 

w. 
vv. 
w. 
w. 
w. 

w. 

w. 
w. 
w. 

w. 
vv. 
w. 



Sky and 
Atmosphere. 



Foggy 

Cloudy 

Cloudy 

Rain 

Rain 
Cloudy 

Clear 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 

Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 

Cloudy 
Cloudy 

Clear 
Cloudy 

Clear 

Clear 
Clear 

Cloudy 
Clear 

Clear 

Cloudy 
Clear 



Localitj.. 



6th Camp 

On the Malaspina Glacier, 



7th Camp 

On the Malaspina Glacier, 
at the foot of the Hitch- 
cock Hills. 



8th Camp 

On the Seward. 



9th Camp 

At the foot of the Hitch- 
cock Glacier, 



■ oth Camp 

Pinnacle Glacier. 



nth Camp 

At the foot of Pinnacle 
Cliffs. 



Hour. 



2.30 p.m. 
8 p.m. 



8 p.m. 
8 a.m. 

8.30 p.m. 
4.30 a.m. 

8 p.m. 



8 p.m. 
8 a.m. 
12 noon 
8 p.m. 

12 noon 
8 p.m. 



8 p.m. 



200 



APPENDICES 



OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BV THE EXPEDITION. 



MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER. 


Mean 
Tempera- 
ture of 
the Air. 


THERMO- 
METER. 


HYGRO- 
METER. 


Wind. 


Sky. 


Atmosphere. 




Read- 
ings. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini, 
mum. 


Hun- 
dredths 
of Satu- 
ration. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Altitude. 


28.2 
2S.2 


39.20 
36.14 


38.90 
36.14 


41 00 


34.34 


69.2 
73.0 


39.92 
36.86 


— 


Thick fos 
Thick fog 


Abundant dew 
Abundant dew 


[1.417 


28.2 


37.76 


37.76 






78.5 


39.02 




Thick fog 


Rain 


■ 


2S.2 


41.00 


40.10 


40.10 


34-34 


80.0 


41.0 


— 


Clear 


— 


••.703 


28.2 


38.48 


37.20 


— 


36.86 


73.0 


39.02 


— 


Cuimilus 2 


— 


28.2 


38.30 


37.20 


40.64 


33-44 


— 


~ 


— 


Clear 


Clear 


, 


27.9 


36.32 


36.50 


— 


— 


74.0 


37.04 


N. I 


Cirrus 6 


Clear 


2,162 


27.6 


35.96 


34.88 






59.0 


39.20 


N.E. 1 


Foggy 


Rain 


' 


27.6 
27.6 


42.08 
54.56 


41.18 
50.0 


47.30 
65.30 


32.9 
39.20 


43.0 
39.0 


46.04 
■51.44 


: 


Cumulus 5 
Cumulus 8 


Foggy 
Clear 


-2,454 


27-5 


35.60 


35.42 


75.20 


33.40 


58.0 


40.46 


— 


Cumulo- Stratus 7 


Clear 


, 


26.1 r 
27.0 


47.30 
43.16 


48.38 
44.24 


71.6 


57.76 


23.0 
53.5 


59.36 
50.0 


— 


Stratus I 
Clear 


Clear 
Clear 


[2,979 


26.7 


46.40 


46.36 


— 


— 


46.0 


43.16 


— 


Clear 


Clear 


3,26. 


— 


- 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 





201 



APPENDICES 





OBSERVATIONS 
MISSION OF 


TAKEN BY REV. HENDRIKSEN AT THE 
VAKUTAT (24 feet above the level of the sea). 




DATE. 




MERCURIAL 
BAROiMETER. 


PSYCHRO- 
METER. 




Sky and 
Atmosphere. 








Hour. 


Read- 
ings. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Dry 
Thermo- 
meter. 


Wet 
Thermo- 
meter. 


Wind. 


Locality. 


Hour. 


July lo 


8 p.m. 


29.11 


62.68 


59-54 


5596 


w. 


Cloudy 


i2tli Camp 

On the Seward, at the foot 


8 p.m. 


,, II 


8 a.m. 


29.10 


59.18 


56.30 


55-40 


S.E. 


Rain 


of Dome Pass. 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 


29.10 


60.98 


63.86 


57.20 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


— — 


— 




8 p.m. 


29.7 


60.0S 


58.10 


54.50 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




9 p.m. 


„ 12 


8 a.m. 


29.9 


59.18 


57.20 


55-40 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 




12 noon 


29.9 


60.08 


59.0 


56.30 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




12 noo 




8 p.m. 


29.9 


60.44 


58.10 


51.80 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


13th Camp 

Dome Pass. 


8 p.m. 


„ 13 


8 a.m. 


29.6 


59.18 


55.40 


52.16 


s.w. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 




12 noon 


29.6 


61.88 


59.0 


55-76 


\v. 


Cloudy 




12 noo 




8 p.m. 


29.6 


62.7S 


59.0 


52.70 


E. 


Rain 


14th Camp 

On the .Agassiz, at the foot 


8 p.m. 


„ 14 


8 a.m. 


29.6 


60.0S 


55-76 


53-06 


S.E. 


Rain 


of Dome Pass. 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 


29.8 


61. 88 


59-36 


57.20 


S.E. 


Rain 




12 nooi 




8 p.m. 


29.9 


60.08 


59.36 


54-54 


S.E. 


Rain 




8 p.m. 


„ 15 


8 a.m. 


29.10 


58.28 


55-40 


51.80 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 




12 noon 


29.10 


58.28 


57.76 


52.54 


N.E. 


Cloudy 




12 nooi 




8 p.m. 


29.10 


63.68 


57.20 


51.80 


N.E. 


Cloudy 


■ 5th Camp 

W. side of Agassiz. 


8 p.m. 


„ 16 


8 a.m. 


30.0 


58.28 


57-76 


52.16 


S.E. 


Rain 




6 a.m. 




12 noon 


30.1 


60.10 


59.0 


58.10 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


— — 


— 




8 p.m. 


30.2 


60.44 


58.10 


53.60 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


i6th Camp 

On the Newton Glacier, 


8 p.m. 


„ 17 


8 a.m. 


30.2 


58.28 


57.20 


51.80 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


lower plateau. 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 


30.2 


57.44 


58.46 


55-40 


S.E. 


Rain 




12 nooi 




8 p.m. 


30.0 


56.30 


56.30 


50.0 


S.E. 


Rain 




8 p.m. 


„ 18 


8 a.m. 


29.1 I 


53.60 


53-96 


50.90 


S.E. 


Rain 




8 a.m. 




12 noon 


30.0 


56.30 


57.02 


50.0 


S.E. 


Rain 




12 nooi 




8 p.m. 


30.0 


56.30 


56.30 


50.0 


S.E. 


Rain 




8 p.m. 


.. 19 


8 a.m. 


30.0 


54.68 


54.86 


51.26 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




7.30 a.n 



202 



APPENDICES 



OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY THE EXPEDITION. 



MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER. 



Tempera- 
ture. 



Mean 
Tempera- 
ture of 
the Air. 



38.12 

43-34 

34.70 
40.10 
46.40 

35.60 
56.30 
50.0 

36.14 
45.68 
55-40 
36.68 
51.80 
55.40 

35-96 
41.0 

35-24 
37-40 
39.20 
35.60 
40.1 
41-36 
3340 
25.8 I 42.08 



37-76 
42.26 

35-78 
39.20 
44.60 

35-42 
50.18 
44-96 

36.14 
42.62 

45-50 
36.50 

44-96 
46.40 

35-96 
41.36 

35.60 
42.38 
39.02 
35-96 
38.48 
42.10 
35-96 
39.20 



THERMO- 
METER. 



Maxi- 
mum. 



48. 20 

58.10 
44.60 
56.84 



49.10 

48.74 
63.50 
58.28 
53-96 

44.60 
44.24 



49.64 
47.84 
42.24 
41.90 
43-70 
48.74 
39-56 



Mini- 
mum. 



Hun 
dredths 
of Satu- 
ration 



34- 1 6 

32.44 
32-36 



40.64 

32-36 
37-40 
3970 
32-36 

32-90 
32.90 



32.36 

34.16 

32-36 

32.0 

32.36 

32.36 

26.96 



HYGRO- 
METER. 



55-0 



73-0 
62.0 
49.0 
86.0 
21.0 
29.0 

69.0 
67.0 
50,0 
59.0 
65.0 
58.0 

85.0 
67.0 

86.0 
66.0 
64.0 
82.0 
63.0 
68.0 
86.0 
46.0 



Tempera 
ture. 



39-74 



38.12 
41.18 
50.0 

37-04 

59.0 

54.14 

39.20 

42.98 

50.0 

38.84 

42.98 

53-06 

35-96 
45-34 

35-78 
38.30 
40.28 
35-78 
39-92 
39-74 
33-98 
42.80 



Wind. 



N. 



N. I 
N. I 



E. 



E. I 



S.E. I 
E. 2 
E. I 



E. 



Sky. 



Cumulus 8 
Cum. -Nimbus 10 

Nimbus 10 
Cumulus S 
Cumulus 7 

Cumulus 9 

Cirrus 6 

Cirro-Cumulus 6 

Cumulus 10 
Cumulus 8 



Cumulus 8 

Cirrus 2 
Cirrus 7 



Atmospliere. 



Cirro-Cumulus 6 



Showers 
Showers 

Foggy — Rain 
Foggy 
Dark 

Foggy 
Clear 
Clear 

Foggy — Rain 

Foggy 

Foggy 
Foggy — Rain 

Foggy 
Rain 

Foggy 
Foggy 



Foggy — Rain 

Rain 

Rain 
Rain — Snow 

Sleet 
Low fog 



^3,714 



^4,682 



^3,566 



[3,740 



M,485 



203 



APPENDICES 





DATE. 


OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY REV. HENDRIKSEN AT THE 
MISSION OF YAKUTAT (24 feet above the level of the sea). 








MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER. 


PSYCHRO- 
METER. 




Sky and 
Atmosphere. 










Hour. 


Read- 
ings. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Dry 
Thermo- 
meter, 


Wet 
Thermo- 
meter. 


Wind. 


Locality. 


Hour. 


J 


Illy 19 


12 noon 


304 


57-38 


56.84 


55-76 


W. 


Clear 


17th Camp 

On the Newton Glacier, 
second ice-fall. 


4p.m. 
6 p.m. 






~ 


~ 






~ 












8 p.m. 


30.5 


59.18 


55-76 


52.70 


w. 


Clear 




8 p m. 




„ ?.o 


8 a.m. 


30.4 


55-58 


54-32 


50.90 


w. 


Cloudy 




7.30 a.m. 






12 noon 


30-4 


5S.10 


56-30 


58.96 


w. 


Cloudy 


— — 


— 






* 
8 p.m. 


30.3 


57.20 


56-30 


54.50 


w. 


Clear 


1 8th Camp 

On the Newton Glacier, 


8 p.m. 




„ 21 


8 a.m. 


29.10 


54-5° 


53.06 


51.26 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


second ice-fall. 


8 a.m. 






12 noon 


29.9 


54-50 


56.34 


52.70 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.7 


54.68 


56.34 


50.90 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 p.m. 




,. 22 


8 a.m. 


29.7 


55-04 


54.50 


52.70 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 






12 noon 


29.7 


56.48 


56.34 


52.70 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




12 noiui 






8 p.m. 


29.7 


58.64 


56.34 


50.90 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 p.m. 




,, 23 


8 a.m. 


29.7 


53-24 


53.60 


52.34 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 






12 noon 


29.8 


56.84 


— 


— 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




12 noon 






8 p.m. 


29.9 


59-18 


— 


— 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 p.m. 




,, 24 


8 a.m. 


29.9 


54.68 


— 


— 


S.E. 


Rain 




8 a.m. 
10 a.m. 






12 noon 


29.9 


58.28 


— 


— 


— 


— 




2 p.m. 




„ 25 


8 p.m. 
8 a.m. 


29.9 
29.8 


53-24 
51.80 


51-44 


50.0 


S.E. 


Rain 


19th Camp 

On the Newton Glacier, 
second plateau. 


8 p.m. 
8 a.m 






12 noon 


29.9 


54.68 


53.60 


5 1. So 


S.E. 


Cloudy 


— — 


— 






8 p.m. 


29.10 


54.68 


56.34 


50.0 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 p.m. 




„ '26 


8 a.m. 


30.0 


53-78 


53-24 


51.80 


S.E. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 






12 noon 


30.0 


55-58 


56.34 


51.80 


S.E. 


Rain 




12 noon 






8 p.m. 


30.0 


61.90 


54.50 


50.0 


W. 


Clear 




8 p.m. 




., 27 


8 a.m. 


30.1 


54.68 


53-24 


50.90 


W. 


Cloudy 




8 a.m. 



204 



APPENDICES 



OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY THE EXPEDITION 



MERCURIAL 
iAROMETER. 



Tempera- 
ture. 



Mean 
Tempera- 
ture of 
the Air. 



46.40 
39.20 
32-36 
39.20 

31-64 
34-70 
38.22 
32-36 
3S-84 
47-30 
31.10 
42.80 
46.40 
31.10 

35-96 
39.20 
37-40 



42-80 

36.50 
31.46 
40.30 

32.18 

32-54 
35.24 

33-98 
36.32 
4386 
30.56 
39-38 
42.80 
30.56 

33.44 
37-06 
35-96 

29.66 
37-76 

28.76 
28.94 

33-44 
24.44 
35.60 



THERMO- 
METER. 



34-34 
41.0 

41.18 

51.80 
21.44 

55.40 
55-40 

47-30 



42.80 



Hun- 
dredths 
of Satu- 
ration. 



HYGRO- 
METER. 



Tempera- 
ture. 



39-0 
48.0 
78.0 



27.6S 
27-50 

29.84 

28.20 
29.30 

37-04 
27.50 

35.60 



25-34 



84.0 32.18 



36.32 24.80 
44.60 26.60 



72.50 
60.80 
65.84 



24.80 
21.20 
21.20 



71.0 
79.0 
84.0 
69.0 
45-0 
85.0 
46.0 
27.0 
81.0 
69.0 
52-0 
62.0 

80.0 
52.0 

88.0 
40.0 
25.0 
80.0 
370 



36.14 

37-04 

33.08 

41.0 

55-40 

30.92 

50.0 

55.40 

30.02 

37-04 

41.0 

39-20 

32.0 
42. So 

28.04 
39.20 

35-04 
24.08 

37-04 



Wind. 



46.40 S.W. I 

39.20 

32.0 



N.E. 

N. 1 



N.W. 2 



Sky. 



Stratus 3 
Stratus 5 



Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 
Cloudy 

Cirro-Cumulus 4 



Cirro-Stratus 4 



.\tmosphere. Altitude, 



Sultry 
Low fog 



Thick fog 
Fog— Snow 
Fog — Snow 
Fog — Snow 
Fog — Snow 
Snow 

Snow c; 



Thin fog 
Snow 



'-5,082 



Snow 



Foggy 
Snow (') 



5,754 



6,460 



205 









APPENDICES 










OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY REV. HENDRIKSEN AT THE 
MISSION OF YAKUTAT (24 feet above the level of the sea). 




DATE. 




MERCURIAL 
BAROMETER, 


PSYCHRO- 
METER. 




Sky and 
Atmosphere. 








Hour. 


Read- 
ings. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Dry 

Thermo- 
meter. 


Wet 
Thermo- 
meter. 


Wind. 


Locality. 


Hour, 


July 27 


12 noon 
8 p.m. 


30.1 
30.2 


59.0 
56.66 


S3-60 
5540 


52.70 
51.80 


— 


Cloudy 
Cloudy 


20th Camp 

On the Newton Glacier, 
third ice-fall. 


2.30 p.ni 
S p.m. 


„ 28 


8 a.m. 


30.2 


56.84 


54.50 


52.34 


— 


Foggy 




8 a.m. 




12 noon 


30.2 


58.10 


53.60 


51.80 


— 


Foggy 




12 unci 




8 p.m. 


30.2 


56.30 


54-50 


50.0 


— 


Rain 


— — 


8 p.m. 


„ 29 


8 a.m. 


30.1 


56.48 


57-14 


50.0 


— 


Cloudy 


— — 


- 




12 noon 
8 p.m. 


30.0 
30.0 


58.2S 
50.08 


54-50 
57-14 


52.70 

52-34 


— 


Clear 
Clear 


21 St Camp 

Or. the Newton Glacier, 
high plateau. 


12 noon 


„ 30 


8 a.m. 


300 


52.88 


49.10 


47-30 


— 


Cloudy 


— — 


- 1 




12 noon 


30.0 


56.48 


53.60 


52-34 


— 


Clear 


22nd Camp 

Russell Col. 


12 IKlol 




8 p.m. 


30.1 


59.90 


56.84 


54-50 




Clear 




8 p.m. 


„ 31 


8 a.m. 


30.3 


5540 


54.50 


53.60 


- 


Foggy 


Climbing the 
N.N.E. ridge 


8 a.ni 




12 noon 


30-4 


58.28 


53.60 


53.60 


w. 


Cloudy 


On the Summit of 
Mount St. Elias 


12 n 




8 p.m. 


30.4 


5540 


56.30 


51.80 


N. 


Cloudy 


22nd Camp 

Russell Col. 


8 p.m. 


Aug. I 


8 a.m. 


30.4 


56.30 


54-50 


53.60 


E. 


Rain 




8 a.m. 




12 noon 


30-4 


56.48 


54-50 


52-70 


N. 


Foggy 


— — 


— 


2 


8 p.m. 
8 a.m. 


30.3 
30.2 


58.28 
54.68 


55-94 
51.84 


52.70 
50.90 


— 


Foggy 
Foggy 


2 1st Camp 

Newton Glacier, high 
plateau. 


8 p.m. 




12 noon 


30.1 


56.48 


56-30 


56-30 


— 


Foggy 




12 noon 




8 p.m. 


30.1 


5S.28 


56.30 


52-70 


— 


Rain 




8 p.m. 


i> 3 


8 a.m. 


30.0 


56.48 


56.48 


56.30 


-^ 


Rain 




8 a.m. 



(') In 12 hours it snowed 30 inches. The aneroids foretold very regularly the weather, giving a minimum 
pression (23.7) the 22nd of July, at 10 o'clock a.m. 

206 



APPENDICES 



OBSERVATIONS TAKEN BY THE EXPEDITION. 



RCURIAL 

IOMETER. 


Mean 
Tempera- 
ture of 
the Air. 


THERMO- 
METER. 


HYGRO- 
METER. 


Wind. 


Sky. 


Atmosphere. 




s. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Maxi- 
mum. 


Mini- 
mum. 


Hun- 
dredths 
of Satu- 
ration. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Altitude. 




— 


3776 


— 


— 




— 


— 


— 


— 


^1 




— 


30.20 


— 


24.24 


62.0 


29.48 


N.W. 2 


Cirro-Stratus 3 


— 






— 


41.0 


62.80 


23.0 


59.0 


2S.O4 


— 


Cirrtis 3 


Dark 






— 


42.80 


— 


21.20 


52.0 


28.04 


E. 3 


Cloudy 


Snow 


■7,431 




— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


N.W. I 


Clear 


— 




II 


4I.O 


40.10 


— 




— 


— 


N.W. I 


Clear 


— 


8,661 


II 
II 


33.80 
18.50 


32.0 
18.50 


33-80 


18.50 


25.0 
23.0 


33-So 
19.40 




— 


— 


[12,297 


2 


21.20 


16.88 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


16,509 


2 


11.20 


10.40 


— 


— 


30.0 


25.98 


— 


Clear 


Clear 


18,090 


3 


18.70 


15.80 






47.0 


18.50 








1 1 2,297 


P 


24.S0 


21.0 


— 


14.0 


2S.0 


24.08 


— 


— 


— 


O 


21.0 


23.90 


— 


— 


79.0 


25.88 


— 


— 


— 


-8,661 


J 


62.60 


53.60 
35.60 
42.80 


— 


— 


48.0 


53.60 


— 


Clear 


— 







44.60 


24.80 


54.0 


42.80 





Cloudy 







1 




















i 























(-) Gay-Lussac barometer brolten. The Fortin barometer (from 10 to 22 inches) is not worlcing yet. 
(3) In 12 hours it snowed 32 inches. 



207 



APPENDICES 

Compass Bearings (Prismatic Compass). 



30th of July. Fro)ii Russdl Cot 




31st of July. From 


the top of Mount St. 


Mount 


St. Elias 


182° 


Elias. 




Newton 


3i°3o' 


Mount 


Logan 13° 




Vancouver 


58° 




Vancouver 54° 




Augusta 


61° 




Cook 73°45' 




Hubbard 


69° 




Bona 311° 




Cook 


75° 




Bear 326° 




Fairweather 


lOl' 




Lucania 348° 



Comparison of the Aneroid (Simms, No. i486) against the 
Mercurial Barometer. 

One of the three aneroids with which the expedition was provided was 
spoilt at an early stage of the ascent, and the pocket aneroid became useless 
shortly above the height of 9,000 feet. The Simms aneroid (No. 14S6) that 
was taken to the summit of Mount St. Elias always gave excellent readings, 
which are considered to be worthy of record. A rectifying table both for this 
and the other aneroids had been drawn up for us by Mr. W. T. Hammer, 
Director of the United States " Weather Bureau " of San Francisco. Fre- 
quent comparisons made with the mercurial barometer in the month of June 
and first half of July rendered it advisable to always make an alteration of 
— "236 inch to the corrections given in the table ; which alteration proved to 
be entirely justified by the comparisons afterwards made. 

Accordingly, a fourth column was added to the table of the San 
Francisco Meteorological Office, containing, correspondently with the dif- 
ferent pressures, the medium figures of corrections ascertained by the said 
office, with —'236 inch in addition. These additional corrections are applied 
to the pressures read from the aneroid. 

On comparing the corrected pressures thus obtained with those given at 
the same moment by the mercurial barometer, it is seen that the error caused 
by relying solely on observations from this well-regulated aneroid would 
have seldom amounted to — '04 of an inch ; which, even at the unusual 
altitude of 18,000 feet, would only lead, with (t -I- 1) < ( -1- 20°), to a difference 
of less than 100 feet. And this error would be diminished even more if, in 
calculating the table of corrections, one could take into account the influence 
of great differences of temperature on the aneroid. This correction according 
to temperature could not even be attempted, owing to lack of time, and the 
considerable difficulties in the way of the practical execution of the task. 
Even the small pocket aneroid was most valuable, owing to the accuracy of 
its indications and remarkable sensitiveness. But the results recorded from 
it are not worth publishing, since, having failed us at 9,000 feet, they refer to 
the least important part of the journey, and offer no fund of observation of 
any special interest. 

From the brief trial made on this climb, it would seem that for ordinary 

208 



APPENDICES 

measurement of altitudes, in different ascents, a good, modern, properly 
rectified aneroid might perfectly take the place of a mercurial barometer, 
with the great advantage of being lighter, less fragile, and of a more portable 
shape. 

Corrections to Sc.4le Readings of Simms' Aneroid, No. 14S6. 



Readings. 


Correclinn obtained 

by increasing of one 

inch the pression in 

jne and a half minutes. 


Correction obtained 

by diminishing of one 

inch the pression in 

three minutes. 


Mean correction. 


Correction obtained 
by adding — .236 of an 
inch to the mean correc- 
tion. 


30-157 


— 0. 1 1 8 


- 0.315 


- 0.216 


- 0.452 


29-134 


- 0.157 


- 0.315 


— 0.236 


- 0,472 


28.149 


- 0.197 


- 0.315 


— 0.256 


- 0.492 


27.165 


— 0.209 


- 0.354 


- 0.281 


- 0.517 


26.181 


— 0.236 


- 0.354 


- 0.295 


- 0.531 


25.197 


- O.24S 


- 0.405 


— 0.326 


— 0.562 


24.212 


- 0.275 


- 0.433 


- 0.354 


- 0,590 


23.228 


- 0.335 


- 0.472 


- 0.403 


- 0,639 


22.244 


- 0.335 


- 0.524 


- 0.429 


— 0.665 


21.260 


- 0.370 


- 0.528 


- 0.449 


- 0,685 


20.275 


— 0.366 


- 0.559 


— 0.462 


- 0.698 


19.291 


— O.50S 


- 0.524 


— 0.516 


- 0.752 


18.307 


- 0.543 


— 0.617 


— 0.580 


- 0,816 


■7-323 


- 0.531 


— 0.692 


— 0.6 II 


- 0.847 


16-535 


- 0.637 


— 0.642 


- 0.639 


- 0.875 


15-551 




— 0.665 


— 0.665 


— 0.901 



209 



APPENDICES 



Comparison of Simms' Aneroid, No. 14S6, against thk Fortix 
Mercurial Barometer. 





Hour. 


Altitude. 


Readings of 
the Fortin 
Barometer 
reduced 10 
32° Fahr. 


SIMMS' 


aneroid, 


No. 14S6. 


Differences 


Date. 


Readings. 


Readings 
rectified. 


Temperature. 


of the 
Readings. 


June 24 


S.30 a m. 


■ 


30.027 


30.493 


30.043 


— 


+ 0.016 




I p.m. 




29.976 


30.472 


30-023 


60.80 


+ 0.047 




8 p.m. 


5 


29.9S8 


30-468 


30004 


52.16 


+ 0.016 


,, 25 


8 a.m. 




29.964 


30.453 


30.0 


50.1 8 


+ 0.036 




12 noon 


i 


29.960 


30.394 


29.941 


53-96 


— 0.019 




8 p.m. 


1 ( 


29.894 


30-354 


29.901 


48.20 


+ 0.007 


„ 26 


8 a.m. 




29.878 


30-354 


29.901 


52.70 


4- 0.023 




12 noon 




29.846 


30-354 


29.901 




-+- 0.055 




8 p.m. 




29.S21 


30.315 


29.862 


— 


+ 0.041 


„ 27 


8.30 a.m. 




29.S58 


30.334 


29.SS2 


56-30 


+ 0.024 




2 p.m. 


47 -, 


29.S62 


30.362 


29.909 


61.70 


+ 0.037 




8 p.m. 




29-838 


30-334 


29.S82 


53-60 


+ 0.044 


„ 28 


S a.m. 




29.S90 


30-362 


29.909 


51.80 


4- 0.019 




12 noon 




29.874 


30-334 


29.SS2 


53-6o 


+ o.ooS 




8 p.m. 


1 

1 K 


29.846 

i 


30-319 


29.866 


53-24 


+ 0.020 


.. 29 


8 p.m. 


512 


29.252 


29.716 


29.252 


37-40 





„ 30 


8 a m. 


1 1 


29.118 


29.622 


29.104 


— 


— 0.014 




8 p.m. 


■ 551 ■ 


2S.964 


29.46S 


29.0 


40.64 


4- 0.036 


July I 


12 noon 


I- -' 1 


1 

2S.315 


28.S42 


28 362 


44.60 


+ 0.047 




8 p.m. 


2S.366 


28.S7S 


28 397 


41.0 


+ 0.031 


n 


2.30 p.m. 


} '- ■! 


28.224 


28.720 


28.240 


42.80 


4- 0.016 




8 p.m. 


28.232 


2S.74S 


2S.268 


37-94 


+ 0.036 



210 



APPENDICES 



Date. 


Hour. 


J'liy 3 


8 p.m. 


„ 4 


8 a.m. 




8 p.m. 


" 5 


8 p.m. 


„ 6 


8 p.m. 


„ 7 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 




8 p.m. 


„ 8 


12 noon 




8 p.m. 


.. 9 


8 p.m. 


„ lO 


8 p.m. 


., II 


8 a.m. 




8 p.m. 


„ 12 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 




8 p.m. 


„ J3 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 




8 p.m. 


„ 14 


8 a.m. 




12 noon 




8 p.m. 


V )5 


S a.m. 




12 noon 



!l62 



2454 



2979 



3261 



3714 



46S2 



Readings of 
the Fortiii 
Barometer 
reduced to 
32° Fahr. 



3566 . 



28.177 
28.220 
2S.20I 

27775 

27.496 
27.484 

27-453 
27-433 

26.913 
26.972 

26.622 

26.149 
26.031 
25.972 
25.858 
25-937 

25.583 
25-374 
25.421 

25.799 
25.996 
26.043 
26.0S6 
26.070 
26.173 



SIMMS' ANEROID, No. 1486. 



Readings. 



28.693 
28.91 I 
2S.904 

28.303 

2S.03I 
28.016 
27.988 
27.952 

27.441 
27.500 

27.165 

26.673 
26.575 
26.535 
25.496 
25.496 

26.149 

25.964 
25-992 

26.567 
26.543 
26.583 
26.634 
26.634 
26.732 



Readings 
rectitied. 



28. 212 

2S.237 
28.224 

27.S03 

27-531 
27.516 
27488 
27-453 

26.941 
27.0 

26.653 

26.153 
26.051 
26.008 
25.968 
25.968 

25.618 

25.429 
25-453 

26.043 
26.016 
26.055 
26.114 
26.114 
26.209 



Temperature. 



Differences 

of the 
Readings. 



39.92 



38.30 + 0035 

44.60 + 0.017 

— ; + 0.023 

+ 0.028 

36.50 I -f 0.035 

44.0 -f 0.032 

69.0 + 0.035 

+ 0.020 

+ 0.028 

47.3c i -f 0.028 

+ 0.033 

— -f 0.004 
+ 0020 
+ 0.036 

+ O.IIO 



I 



+ 0.031 



+ 0.03; 



4S.20 I + 0.055 
59.0 + 0.032 

-f 0.224 
+ 0.020 
41.0 I + 0.012 
41.0 + 0.02S 

42.80 -f 0.044 
51.80 -f 0.036 



2(1 



APPENDICES 



Hour. 



Altitude. 



July 15 

„ 16 

,, 17 

„ 18 

„ 19 



>, 23 



,. 24 



8 


p.m. 


S 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


7-3 


a.m. 


4 p.m. 



3740 



Readings of 
the Fortiu 
Barometer 
reduced to 
32° Fahr. 



6 p m. 
8 p.m. 



8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


S 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 


8 


a.m. 


12 


noon 


8 


p.m. 



) 44S5 / 



5082 



5754 / 



26.0 

25.542 
25-579 
25-563 
25.460 
25.370 
25.421 

25-517 
25.665 

25-197 
25.185 
25.169 

24.409 

24-134 
24.067 
23.968 

23-S74 
23S78 
23-S74 
23-S97 
23.96S 

23-992 
24.020 

23-992 
24.008 



SIMMS' ANEROID, No. i486. 



Readings. 



Re.-idings 
rectified. 



Temperature. 



26.555 

26.1 14 
26.122 
26.102 
25.996 
24945 
25-984 
26.063 
26.228 

25.783 

25.748 
25.728 

25.004 
24.724 
24.677 
24.567 
24.468 
24.4S0 

24-4S4 
24.4S8 
24.567 
24.606 
24.606 
24.598 
24.606 



26.031 

25575 
25-583 
25.567 
25.460 
25.405 

25-449 
25.528 
25.697 

25.240 
25.205 
25.185 

24-437 
24.149 
24.09S 
23988 
23.890 
23.901 

23-9'J5 
23.909 
23.9S8 
24.027 
24.027 
24.020 
24.031 



36.40 
33-So 
40.10 

38.84 
44.60 
48.20 
35.60 
41.0 

38.S4 
35.60 
28.40 

33-80 
33-80 

34-16 
36.50 
36.50 
47-30 
34-70 
43-70 
55-40 
39.20 
36.84 
35.60 
39.20 



Diflereuces 

of the 
Readings. 



+ 0.031 

+ 0.033 
+ 0.004 
-f 0.004 

O 
+ 0.035 
+ 0.02S 

4- o.oii 
4- 0.032 

+ 0.043 
4- 0.020 
4- 0.016 

+ 0.028 

+ 0.015 

4- 0.038 

4- 0.020 

4- 0.016 

+ 0.023 

+ 0.031 

+ 0.012 

+ 0.020 

4- 0.035 

4- 0.007 

+ 0.028 

-f 0023 



212 



APPENDICES 





Hour. 


Altitude. 


Readings of 
tlie Fortin 
Barometer 
reduced to 
32' Fahr. 


SIMMS' 


ANEROID, No. 14S6. 


Differences 


Date. 


Readings. 


Readings 
rectified. 


Temperature. 


of the 
Readings. 


July 25 


8 a.m. 




— 


23-945 


23-374 


41.0 


— 




1 
8 p.m. 




— 


24.023 


23.425 


44.60 


— 


„ 26 


8 a.m. 
12 noon 


6460 < 


— 


24-153 
24.130 


23-559 
23-535 


40.64 
50.0 


— 




8 p.m. 




— 


24-137 


23-55' 


33-So 


— 


., 27 


8 a.m. 




— 


24-193 


23.602 


39.20 


— 




8 p.m. 




— 


23-547 


22.913 


41.0 


— 


„ 28 


8 a.m. 


- 7431 ■ 


— 


23-464 


22.831 


36.50 


— 




12 noon 




— 


23583 


22.949 


35-7S 




„ 29 


12 noon 


1 I 
8661 


2I.S09 


22.598 


21.941 


41.0 


+ 0.032 


» 30 


12 noon 


12297 


18.968 


19.673 


18.949 


33.80 


— 0.019 


,, 31 


S a.m. 


16509 


16.279 


17.067 


16.272 


19.40 


— 0.007 




12 noon 


i8ogo 


15.204 


16.063 


15.177 


15 So 


— 0.027 


August I 


S p.m. 
8 a.m. 


} .2297 { 


19.083 
19.094 


20.472 
19.81 1 


19.031 
19.0S6 


23.0 
24.80 


— 0.052 

— 0008 





8 p.m. 
12 noon 


- 8661 - 


21.929 
21.909 


22.590 
22.563 


21.913 

21.901 


32.0 
15.80 


— 0.016 

— o.ooS 



213 



APPENDIX C 

Medical Notes 

OUR medical outfit comprised the following items: — 
I. A small medical chest containing an assortment of compressed 
tabloids and soloids. Also, one small box of ophthalmic tabloids, 
one of drugs for subcutaneous injections, some tubes of lanoline, 
powders for curing snow-dermatitis, a few tubes of ethyl-chloride 
for local an.nesthesia during slight operations, and other medica- 
ments of secondary importance. 

2. A surgical case stocked with the indispensable instruments for use in 

emergencies, and to supply " first aid " at least, in case of any bad 
accident. 

3. Packets of compressed aseptic dressings, in three different sizes, each 

containing one complete dressing.' 

4. A piece of stout canvas to be used as a stretcher by slipping a couple 

of sticks through the hems at the edges. 

A supply of surgical appliances was left at the coast ; the rest of the sani- 
tary outfit, weighing 36 lbs., was carried up as far as Sledge Camp at the base 
of Newton Glacier. Above that point, the expedition was only provided with 
one small leather case of drugs, one of surgical instruments, and a few packets 
of dressings. 

No accidents occurred throughout the journey, and the whole caravan 
enjoyed excellent health, with the exception of certain slight ailments to be 
specified later on. 

A noteworthy fact is the comparative immunity from so-called rheumatic 
diseases which is peculiar to life on glaciers, although exceptionally exposed 
to all the conditions apparently most conducive to those complaints. Here 
were twenty-one men, living among snow and ice for many weeks in the 
dampest of climates, only sheltered under canvas for a few hours at night, 
coming into camp late, soaked to the skin after long tramps through melting 
snow or pouring rain, often unable to obtain dry flannels for the night, en- 
during the severest fatigue ; yet not one of the number suffered in the least 
from either muscular or articular rheumatism, nor from bronchial catarrh, 
even in its mildest form of ordinary cold in the head. 

' The medicine cliest was provided by the firm of IJurroiighs, Wellcome & Co. 
(London) ; the surgical case by E. liergamini (Llologna) ; and the dressings by C. Kognone 
(Turin). 

214 



APPENDICES 

Mr. Russell's experience was equally fortunate, for during both his 
expeditions to the same region there was no case of illness in his party, 
although his means of protection against the climate were less efficient than 

ours.' 

Our system of diet answered perfecti)- with us all, and no one suffered 
from any disturbance of the digestive organs. 

On the other hand, we had a few slight cases of snow-blindness, although 
we seldom neglected the use of smoked spectacles. The sufferers were all 
quickly cured by applications of cocaine and by avoiding for some days 
undue exposure to the glare of the snow. In this connection let me add 
that expeditions equipped to remain some time in glacier regions should be 
provided with a few pairs of very dark snow-spectacles, so that any one 
suffering from slight ophthalmia may continue the march without great injury. 
We made shift to lessen this evil by smoking the glasses with a lighted 
candle or match. 

We had no case of erythema of the face or hands requiring more than 
ordinary care, perhaps because most of our time was spent at only a moderate 
heicfht above the level of the sea. It is well known that the skin and eye 
troubles often produced by glacier ascents are now attributed to the fact that, 
at threat altitudes, light contains more ultra-violet rays than in lower strata 
of the atmosphere. 

The single case of illness that occurred during the campaign was a 
malarial infection of the tertian fever type, with which a young American 
porter was seized on the Malaspina Glacier, almost at the end of our journey, 
in descending to the coast. This case is rather interesting as regards 
the geographical distribution of malaria. 

On the night of the Sth-gth August this porter had slept with his com- 
rades on a little grassy plateau of the Hitchcock Hills. Thence he and the 
others made their way down to the Malaspina Glacier, across the muddy bed 
of the glacial lake formerly spreading at the base of the chain, but which 
had run dry two months previously. On the evening of the 9th of August 
we encamped on the Malaspina Glacier. Next day the porter was seized 
with fever, about 4 o'clock p.m., after preliminary fits of shivering ; his 
temperature rose to between 103° and 104° Fahr., but went down to normal 
during the night, with profuse perspiration. After two more attacks of the 
same description on alternate days, the fever was cut short by doses of 
chlorhydrate of quinine. It was the first time in his life that he had suffered 
from malarial poison. 

In describing the hygienic conditions of an Alaskan expedition, mention 
must be made of the mosquitoes infesting the whole of the coast-zone. It 
is no exaggeration to say that they must prove a serious obstacle to any 

' The illness of one of Mr. Bryant's men {c'iiie chap. vii. p. 131) seems to have been 
caused by an intestinal malady, probably contracted before he started on tlie e.xpedition. 

215 



APPENDICES 

expedition compelled to remain long in the wooded region. I do not know 
of any adequate defence against this scourge. The specially prepared oint- 
ments, veils, and nets with which we were provided proved totally inefficient ; 
not even by smoking and sitting close to the fire could we escape their 
attacks. In June and July they are rather less troublesome ; but a single 
August night in the forest is enough to disfigure the traveller. His face 
becomes a mass of puffy lumps, while his eyelids are often so swollen that 
the eyes are entirely closed. A small drop of blood exudes from every spot 
stung. The swelling lasts for some days after the intolerable irritation has 
ceased. 

I subjoin Petroff's vivid description of this plague of Alaska, and can 
vouch for its fidelity. 

" There is a feature in this country which, though insignificant on paper, 
is to the traveller the most terrible and poignant affliction he can be called 
upon to bear in a new land. I refer to the clouds of bloodthirsty mosqui- 
toes, accompanied by a vindictive ally in the shape of a small, poisonous 
black fly, under the stress of whose persecution the strongest man with the 
firmest will must either yield to exhaustion or succumb to low fever. They 
hold their carnival of human torment from the first burst of spring vegeta- 
tion in May until it is withered by frosts late in September. Breeding in 
the vast ponds and marshes, of which Alaska is full, they gather around the 
explorer and harass his camps and his marches beyond all power of adequate 
description, and language is simply unable to pourtray the misery and an- 
noyance accompanying their presence. It will naturally be asked, How do 
the natives bear this ? They too are annoyed and suffer, but it should be 
borne in mind that their bodies are anointed with rancid oil ; and certain 
ammoniacal vapours, peculiar to their garments from constant wear, have a 
repellent power which even the mosquitoes, bloodthirsty and cruel as they 
are, are hardly equal to meeting. When travelling, the natives are, however, 
glad enough to seize upon any piece of mosquito-net, no matter how small, 
and usually they have to wrap clothes or skins about their heads and wear 
mittens in midsummer. The traveller who exposes his bare eyes or face 
soon loses his natural appearance ; his eyelids swell up and close, and his 
face becomes one mass of lumps and fiery pimples. Mosquitoes torture the 
Indian dogs to death, especially when by mange or old age they lose any 
considerable portion of their coat. Even the bear and the deer they drive 
into the water." ' 

The greater part of the expedition was in a region of moderate altitude 
at less than 6,ooo feet above the sea ; the American porters only mounted as 
far as the third cascade of the Newton Glacier (7,431 feet); H.R.H., our- 

' Petroff, Population, Industries and l\i sou ices of AIasl:a, 1S84. This report is 
quoted in Alaskn, a handbook piibhshed by the "Uureau of the American Repubhcs," No. 
84, Aiiyust, 18S7, p. 28. 

216 



APPENDICES 

selves, and the guides passed only two nights at a height of 12,297 feet, on 
the Russell Col, only spent a few hours above 16,000 feet, and conditions 
were then too unfavourable for us to be able to collect any important facts 
to enlarge our knowledge of mountain sickness. 

Trofessor Angelo Mosso, whose work on Tlie Physiology of iMaii on the 
Alps ^ contains so rich a store of accurate observations and genial experi- 
ences, throwing much light on the difficult problem of mountain sickness, 
states that it is absolutely necessary to observe and note down the symptoms 
of the malady in particular conditions, in order to distinguish the effects of 
diminished atmospherical pressure from those produced by cold and fatigue. 
Without such distinction, notes are of no value. It is perhaps needless to 
add that the observer should be calm and free from anxiety. Violent ex- 
ternal impressions, or intense inward excitement not bearing upon the sub- 
ject at hand, are fatal to an exact incjuiry into and a severe critical analysis 
of facts. 

Accordingly, I can only offer a few brief notes on mountain sickness, 
without venturing to deduce any conclusion, or to establish their connection 
with any of the numerous theories which have been suggested in explanation 
of that curious complaint. 

As I have already said in describing the ascent, six of us out of the 
ten were more or less acutely affected by the diminished pressure of the air, 
three of us rather severely. The proportion of those attacked was certainly 
unusual when it is considered that, Lieut. Cagni excepted, we were all ac- 
climatized to high levels by repeated Alpine ascents to altitudes above 14,000 
feet, and that Mount St. Elias is much lower than the heights attained by 
other climbers, who as a rule have begun to suffer distress at from 19,000 to 
20,000 feet. 

The history of Alpine climbing records the ascents made in Nepaul by 
the brothers Schlagintweit between 1854 and 1856, when they reached the 
height of 22,239 feet ; E. VVhymper's ascent of Chimborazo (20,545 feet), in 
1S80; Sir Martin Conway's ascent of the Pioneer's Peak in the Indian Kara 
Korum chain (23,000 feet), in 1892 ; the ascent of Aconcagua (23,080 feet) by 
J. S. Vines, of E. A. FitzGerald's expedition, in 1897 ; together with Sir 
Martin Conway's two ascents, in 1898, of the Illimani and Sorata peaks, 
respectively 22,500 and 21,710 feet above the sea. 

It seems to me that the attacks of mountain sickness experienced by 
our party were chiefly caused by our long and difficult marches over snow 
and ice, and the weeks of over-fatigue and discomfort we had gone through 
before reaching the base of the huge pyramid. In all the high ascents to 
which I have referred, the possibility of riding part of the way up led to an 
enormous economy of effort and considerable increase of comfort. The 
Newton Glacier had been climbed under particularly fatiguing conditions, 
laden as we were with heavy loads, and sinking as we did continually more 
' A. Mosso, La Fisiologia delC Uonw Sulk Alpi. Milano, 1898, 2nd edn. 

217 



APPENDICES 

than knec-dcep in the snow. On the day before tlie final ascent, we had 
ch'mbed more than 3,000 feet from the Newton basin to Russell Col ; and at 
night, huddled together five in a tent, suffering from the cold, and very- 
excited b\' our nearness to the goal, few of us were able to sleep. On page 
247 of Mosso's book, a fact is noted that proves the influence of fatigue in 
producing mountain sickness. It seems that the miners engaged in blasting 
a level space on the Gnifetti peak of Monte Rosa for the erection of the 
Regina Margherita hut, only began to feel the effects of the diminished 
pressure when tired out by several days' work. 

The general conditions of Mount St. Elias were not especially conducive 
to mountain sickness. Slow and monotonous as was the climb, the e.Kcite- 
ment of the attainment should have been sufficient compensation for the 
tediousness of the ascent. The temperature was very favourable, the cold 
not excessive (17-6° to 10° Fahr.), there was a briskness in the air, without 
wind, and the whole way lay along a ridge in full view of a superb panorama. 

As to the symptoms we experienced, having only subjective sensations 
to record, I will briefly relate what happened to myself. 

I was the first to be attacked with mountain sickness. At a height of 
between 14,700 and 15,700 feet, on starting afresh after a short rest, I sud- 
denly felt m)^ legs as heavy as lead, a difficulty in breathing, a sense of suffo- 
cation, palpitations, throbbing of the temples and headache, with the sensation 
of having a tight band round the brow.s. Without feeling actual nausea, I 
could neither eat nor drink, and took absolutely nothing the whole day, until 
we had descended to the col. However, I did not suffer from thirst. I was 
aware of no disturbance of the power of vision, and had no buzzing in the 
ears. 

When we halted, I found it easier to rest standing; after involuntarily- 
drawing four or five deep breaths, my breathing soon became more normal. 
One seemingly parado.xical fact I should hesitate to mention were it not 
supported by a remark in Mosso's book (p. 141), namely, that smoking a 
cigarette while at rest aided me to breathe more regularly, and was also the 
best means of combating the heavy somnolence which came over me when- 
ever I came to a standstill. 

Short halts rested me better than long ones. On starting afresh, I always 
found the first steps the most difficult, either from the stiffening of the muscles, 
or because the interval of rest had suspended automatic action of the muscles 
and made necessary the conscious intervention of the will-power. I re- 
member that I tried to step in time as regularly as possible, and I believe 
this assists the return of the unconscious muscular action. As I went on, 
walking gradually became easier, while breathing became more difficult, and 
the sense of oppression returned. 

All these symptoms went on increasing in intensity up to an altitude 
of 16,000 feet ; but then slowly, as we mounted higher, they began to 
diminish. Thus, although phj'sical fatigue may act as the predisposing cause 

218 



APPENDICES 

of mountain sickness, later on its most important factor is, certainly, the 
diminished pressure of the atmosphere ; and besides, even in the short time 
employed on an ascent, it is possible to become so sufficiently adapted to new 
conditions, as to suffer less from mountain sickness while still climbing upwards. 
Cagni was seized with the malady at a higher point than myself, namely, at 
over 16,000 feet, and Sella's assistant photographer, Botta, only at a height 
of about 17,500 feet. But on reaching the summit, Botta was in a worse 
state than any of us, and I, who had been the first victim, suffered less than 
the two others, and was the first to recover. I am certain that all of us 
could have mounted higher ; and perhaps the two others who suffered to the 
same extent as myself might have experienced the same gradual adaptation 
to existing circumstances that proved the case with me. 

On winning the summit we vvere all overcome with excitement for some 
minutes, and shouted so heartily that no one could have been said to lack 
breath. Then, most of us fell into a state of passive, apathetic indifference. 
I remember that H.R.H. was obliged to shake us in order to induce us to 
take meteorological observations and study the features of the country. But 
e.xcepting this curious dulness and aversion to food, no other symptoms re- 
mained. We merely suffered somewhat from cold. 

During the descent I walked well, without any feeling of over-fatigue 
or difficulty of breathing ; but the headache continued for some time, and 
only disappeared when we vvere below 13,000 feet, owing possibly to the 
rapidity of our descent. We were all perfectly well by the time we got down 
to the col, and by no means too tired to eat a hearty supper. 

One phenomenon frequently noticed in mountain ascents, loss of memory, 
was markedly felt by us all. The following day, when we began to write 
our impressions of the climb, we all found strange gaps in our recollections, 
and had to appeal to one another to help to fill them in. The narrative of 
the ascent, as given in chapter viii., is gleaned from the reminiscences of 
the whole party. Possibly no single one of us could have recalled all tiie 
particulars of the ascent or the details of the vast landscape. 

In conclusion, I may mention one circumstance tending to prove that 
the conditions of Mount St. Elias conduce to the development of mountain 
sickness. Our guide, Antoine Maquignaz, had a decided, though slight at- 
tack of the malady on St. Elias ; yet when climbing Mounts Illimani and 
Sorata in the Central Andes with Sir Martin Conway, he not only ascended 
to a height of 22,500 feet, but while at 20,000 feet was able to share with his 
comrade, Louis Pellissier, the hard labour of cuttin'g steps in frozen snow 
and of dragging a heavy sledge over steep snow-slopes.^ I do not believe 
he could have done much work of the same kind on Mount St. Elias, 2,000 
feet lower down. 

' Sir Martin Conway, "My Climbs in the Andes in 189S" (The A/piiie Joiinial, 
August, 1899). 

219 



APPENDIX D 

Animals collected during the Expedition 

I RECEIVED from Dr. De Filippi the few animals broun;ht by the expe- 
dition ; they are all from the Rlalaspina Glacier, and were found on the 

snow ; they belong to five species. 

Two are flying insects which came accidentally on the glacier, perhaps 
from a great distance ; they are — one Dipteron, Srrp/ins arcnatits, I'allen, a 
common species in Europe and North America, as Dr. Giglio Tos,of Turin, who 
had the kindness to identify it, writes me, and an Hymenopteron, Iclinciimou 
liiciiialis, Cress., which was identified by Dr. J. Kriechbaumer, of the Museum 
of Munich. 

The three other species belong doubtless to the proper fauna of the 
glacier, viz. : a springtail of the genus Isotoiiia, nearly related if not identical 
with /. Bessc/si, Pack. ' ; an Arachnid of the Opilionid order, on which Prof 
Pavesi has established a new genus and a new species under the name Toini- 
comcnis bispiiiosus ; an 01igoch;etous Annelid, which forms also a new genus 
and which 1 have described as Mdancncliytracus solifngiis. 

C. Emerv. 

ON ICHNEUMON HIEMALIS, CRESS. 
By Dr. Joseph KRUicHn.vuMicR. 

This species is described by Cresson, from a female specimen from the 
Aleutian Islands. Dr. Kriechbaumer, considering the original diagnosis to be 
insufficient, has made the following description of the specimen from the 
Malaspina Glacier : — 

Ichneumon hiemalus (recte hiemalis) Cresson. 

I'roe. Cal. .\cail. 1S77 (sec. cit. suq.) 

Trans. Amcr. Knt. Soc. 1S77, p. iSi, n. iSo, J. 

$ Niger, capite, dimidio fere basali antcnnarum, mesonoto, abdomine, 
pedibusque (co.kIs posterioribus exceptis) rufis, antennis filiformibus, invo- 
lutis, postpetiolo subtilissime aciculato, gastracoelis majusculis, obliquis, 

' I sent this insect to Prof. Grassi for determination ; he committed the study of it to 
his assistant, Dr. Silvestri, who soon after set out for South America, leaving this work 
unachieved. 

220 



APPENDICES 

terebra vix exserta, alis hyalinis, stigmate fulvo, areola pentagona, subirre- 
gulari. Long. lo mm. 

Caput transversum, siibtiliter punctatum, genis longis, rectis, clipeo a 
facie indisti'ncte discreto, apice truncato, labro parum exserto, utrinque 
acuminato. Antennae filiformes, modice longae et crassae, post mortem 
involutae. Mesonotum planiusculum, subtiliter punctulato-rugulosum ; scu- 
tellum truncato-triangulare, planiusculum, basi fere levi, apice rugulosum ; 
metanotum rotundatum, distincte areolatum, area supcro-media semiovali 
subhexagona, majuscula, basin fere attingente, areis supcro-lateralibus inter 
se vix discretis, anteriore transversa, rectangulari, posteriore triangularia, area 
posteromedia magna, subhexagona, infra costulis aliquot abbreviatis parum 
distinctis, areis postero-lateralibus costa interna bene discreta, externa plana 
obsoleta. Abdomen lanceolato-ovatum, planiusculum, subtilissime punctu- 
latum, petiolo modice longo et lato, levi, nitido, polito, arcuatim in postpetio- 
lum quadruplo latiorem dilatato, hoc subtilissime aciculato ; segmento secundo 
longitudine vix, reliquis ea distincte latioribus. Alarum areolae nervulo 
postico extra medium fracto. Color ut in diagnosi indicatus. 

J. Kkiechbaumkr. 



A NEW AMERICAN NEMASTOMID. 
By Prof. TiETRO Tavesi. 

My friend Prof Emery affords me the opportunity of examining three 
specimens of an Arachnid discovered by Dr. De Filippi on the snows of 
Mount St Elias, during the journey of H.R.H. the Duca degli Abruzzi in 
Alaska. 

The Arachnological fauna of that region is nearly unknown. So far as 
I am aware, spiders have been published from the peninsula and neighbour- 
ing islands only ; they present the types common to the boreal zone of 
America and Eurasia, the characteristically small number of species, the 
prevalence of the smaller sorts ; they are described by Keyserling ' on the 
Marx collection in papers not cited by Simon,' in his bibliography for the 
study of Arctic Arachnids. 

Two are Tomisidae of Alaska proper, XfstiLiis horcalis and Philodromus 
alascoitis. Keys. ; the others are Therididae : Erigonc polaris. Keys., from 
the islet St. Georges, north of Behring's Sea ; ErigoNC schiii/hrgiHciisis, Keys., 
from the island Schumagin, a little below the point of Alaska ; Tlicridiion 
Marxii and Satilatlax Marxii, Keys., Erigone siinillima. Keys. ( = longipalpis, 
Emert.}), formica, Emert., and vacerosa, Keys., from Unalaska in the Fuchs 
group ; Erigtnie jimbraticola. Keys., from Kanaka, another of the Aleutians, 

' Ncuc Spiniicn aus Aineiika, V. Wien, 1SS4 ; Die Spinncn Aiiieiikas, Ikl. II, I Halfte. 
Niirnberg, 1886. 

^ Lisle des Arachnidcs recucillis en iSSr, 1SS4 et 1SS3, par J/.l/. /. dc Ctierne et C. Rabot 
en Lapoine. Paris, 1887. 

221 



APPENDICES 

found again in the island of Sitka, southward of Mount St. Elias, which 
possesses also the Liiivplna arctica a.nd si't/cams/s, Keys., Pcdatiostctlius lividus 
Blkw., Erigone iilnlabilis, fainelica and fainularis, Kej's. 

But the Arachnid of Mount St. Elias is an Opilionid, and restricting 
ourselves to those, we know from North America only a number of species 
described by Wood ' and Weed,'- four PJialangodcs, one Phlcgmaccra, and 
two Nemastoina, living in caverns and illustrated by Packard,^ Mitopus biceps by 
Thorell,^ and Taraciis Packardiihy Simon,^ all from the most central provinces 
of the United States. 

If we take into consideration other Arctic regions, we know with certainty 
the existence of OligolopJtus or Mitopus alpiims, Herbst, in Greenland and 
Lapland ; of var. of the latter, borcalis, Thor., as far north as the island 
Maasoe, near the North Cape f and of M. morio, ¥., and Plialangiiim Nordens- 
ki'dldi, L. Koch {Opilio fiiiicitiis, K.) in Oriental Siberia.' A greater number 
of Opilionids of further Siberia were published by Dr. L. Koch,** namely in 
addition to the two common species above mentioned — Pltalangiiiin connituin, 
L., capyicorne and personatum, L. Koch, Acantliolophus tridcns, C. Koch, and 
Nemastouia crassipalpis, L. Koch. 

Doubtless this latter from Nischnij-Jubatsk and Tungusca, as well as 
Nemastoina inops and more certainly Phleginacera cavicolens (the two latter 
from the Bat-cave in Kentucky) belongs rather to the genus Taracus, Simon," 
of Colorado, or to Sabacon, Simon,'" from the Herault and Lower Pyrenees, 
judging from the form and direction of the tarsus of the palpus, which in the 
fig. ig, pi. III., of Koch, and figs, j^a and ^d, pi. XIV., of Packard appears to 
be fleeted downward. But Packard connects his genus Pldegiitaccra with the 
Phalangiidae, and Simon puts Taracus and Sabacon near Isckyropsalis, C.K., 

' On the Phalaiti^eac of the United States, Philadelphia, i86S. 

^ A descriptive Catalogue of tlie Harvest-spiders (Phalangidae) <y" 0/;/t). Washington, 
1893. The same has written on the Phalangeae of Illinois and New Hampshire ; but I 
know these papers only by incomplete citations. 

^ 77/6' Cavefauiia of North America, with remarks on the anatomy of the brain and 
ori'^in of the blind-species. Nation. Acad. Sc, IV., 1886. They are from the Mammoth 
Cave and other caverns of Kentucky, from the Wyandote Cave in Indiana, and from the 
Clinton in Utah. 

^ Discriplio/is of the Araneae collected in Colorado in iS/j by A. S. Packard. Wash- 
ington, 1877. 

* Descriptions d Opiliones 7ioncieaitx. Paris, 1879. 

^ Thorell, Sopia alcuni opilioni iVEuropae deWAsia occidentale, Genova, 1876 V.\N 
Hasselt, Spinnen door Dr. Tenkate jr. in noordiljk Lapland vcrsameld's. Gravenhage, 
1877; Sl.MON, Arachnides recucillis en Groenliind en iSSS par M. Rabat. Paris, 1889. 

' L. Koch, Uebersicht der von Dr. Finsch in VVestsibirien gesamni. Arachniden. Wien, 
1878; Simon, Liste des Araclinides recueillis par M. lutbot dans la Sihdrie occidentale en 
iSgo. Paris, 1 89 1. 

* Arachniden aiis Sihirien und Novaja Seinlja eingesainm. von der Scliioed. Expcd. iin 
Jahre, 1S75. Stockholm, 1869. 

" Mem. cit., 1879 ; Les Arachnides de France, vol. VII. (pag. 277). Paris, 1S79. 
'° Arachn. de France, vol. cit., pag. 266. 



APPENDICES 

which he separates from the Nemastomidae sensu str., building on these 
genera a new family. 

Packard's view is on the face of it incorrect, as is sufficiently proved by 
the absence of the hook to the tarsus of the palpus, which is also shorter than 
the tibia. The opinion of the French entomologist stands in contradiction 
with the fact that the Alaskan species, whilst it belongs to the Ischyropsalidae 
by the evident pores or spiracles of the cephalothora.x, and is even a Taraciis 
by the flat epistoma and the si.xth ventral segment, which is free only on the 
sides, but a Sabacon by the ocular tubercle broader than long, and by the 
shortness of the first article of the mandibles, has however false articulations 
to the femur and tibia of the foot, a character of Nemastoina, C.K. All this 
would induce us to unite again the family Ischyropsalidae with the old one 
of Nemastomidae, and may justify the establishment of a new genus ; a 
result by no means surprising. 

Tomicomerus ' n. gen. 

Cephalothora.K epimeris poriscjue lateralibus manifestis. 

Tuberculum oculorum humile, latius quam longius, leviter canaliculatum. 

Epistoma planum. 

Mandibulae magnae, articulus primus aeque longus quam cephalothorax. 

Palpi corporis longiores ; tibia longior quam patella, cylindrica, non in- 

crassata, e.xtremis repente attenuata ; tarsus tibia brevior et inferius 

flexus. 
Pedes graciles ; femora, praesertim posteriora, tibiaeque articulationibus 

spuriis praedita. 
Segmentum abdominis dorsuale primum reliquis partitum, a cephalothorace 

cute molli disjunctum ; segmenta ventralia sex, sextum anterior! saltem 

medio coalitum ; segmentum anale ovatum. 

Sp. typ. : T. bispinosus mihi. 

Color castaneus testaceo-striolatus, vel pallidus (mas et junior), cepha- 
lothorace, partibus oris pedibusque brunneo-nigris, segmentis vcntralibus 
plus minus infuscatis. Cephalothorax antice emarginatus, latcribus foveatus, 
laevis. Oculi nigri, ovati, magni, inter se paullulum disjuncti. Maiidibiilac 
pilosae, articulo primo cylindrico ; secundo majore ad basis corniculo ver- 
ticali obtuso et intus apophisi graciliore praedito ; digitis apice decussatis. 
Palpornui pars femoralis apicem versus crescens, parum incurvata, pilis 
brevibus sparsim vestita ; pars patellaris teres, longa quam femoralis, den- 
sior pilosa et nigerrima, in $ tuberculo dentiformi preapicali nigro infra 
et interius armata ; pars tibialis gracilior, peniculo pilorum hirsuta ; pars 
tarsalis dimidio brevior quam tibialis, apice obtuso. Pedes sat longi, aequa- 

' From To;jiK(is = cut, segmented; ^';/)iif = femur. This name would indicate the essential 
character of the genus if the family Ischyropsalidae were maintained. 



APPENDICES 

liter graciles ; coxae ad margines laeves, incrassatae, IV paris longiores et 
obliquae, pilosae ; patellarum quam femorum et tibiarum diametrum majiis ; 
femora et tibiae ex aequo, apicem prope diiatata, femur 4-7, tibia 2-4, meta- 
tarsis multis, articuiationibus spuriis. Segmenta dorsualia (il'doiiiiiiis polita, 
primo excepto in medio ad limen anterius, duabus spinulis nigris erectis 
transversim instructo ; segmenta ventralia et anale setosa. 

Long, corporis max. 4^ millim. 

Hab. mont. S. Eliae (Alaska, America). 

From the Laboratorio zoologico della R. Universita tli I'avia, July 23rd, iSgS. 
ON MELANENCHYTRAEUS SOLIFUGUS. 

An Oligoch-aetous Annelitl of tlie f.Tmily of ihe Enchylr.ieidae. 

By CARro Emery. 

In his expedition to Mount St. Elias, J. C. Russell observed on the 
Malaspina Glacier numerous specimens of a small black worm, which "literally 
covered " the snow before the rise of the sun, and disappeared beneath the 
snow as soon as they felt the warmth of the sun rays.' Russell states that he 
never found these worms when the temperature was above freezing point. 

The same worms were found again and for the first time collected by 
Dr. De Filippi, in the conditions described by Russell. They appeared at 
morning and evening ; on foggy days they disappeared later in the morning 
and re-appeared earlier before sunset ; but they were never seen in the hours 
near mid-day. During the sunny hours, Dr. De Filipjji tried digging under 
the snow to a depth of about fifty centimetres without finding any. In con- 
tradiction to Russell's statement, he observed these worms also when the 
temperature was above freezing point ; but during the return journey they 
were much less numerous, and only on those spots of the glacier which were 
covered with snow. 

The specimens v.hich I have used for this study were put directl)' in 
strong alcohol, and are therefore somewhat shrunken ; but the state of preser- 
vation of the tissues would have allowed a more complete study of the 
structure of this animal, had the specimens been more numerous,^ and collected 
at a more advanced season. 

Most of these specimens were immature ; they had not developed sperm- 
ducts or sperm-sacs or spermathecae. In the more mature specimens, the 
eggs were minute, and I could not recognise any vestige of female genital 

' SL-iond Expedilioii to Mount St. E/i'iis, Washington, 1894, p. jj. W'liyht (T/te fw 
Age 0/ North Aiiwrica, London, iSgo, p. 44) mentions also worms found on a glacier of 
Alaska and properly on Muir Clacier, " in shallower inclosures of the surface, containing 
water and a little dirt." The conditions in which they were observed, very different from 
those in which the worm detected by Russell lives, lead me to think that our worm is not 
identical to the Mclancncliylraeiis of the Malaspina, but belongs to a different species. 

° The number of specimens would have been greater, had not a part of the collected 
material been lost by accident. 

224 



APPENDICES 

ducts ; but one showed a beginning of clitellum development. With few 
exceptions they were lacking in the organs which are the most important for 
the discrimination of genera and the determination of affinities in this order 
of Annelides. 

The worm preserved in spirits (Fig. i) is dark-brown, nearly black. 
Having bleached a specimen by means of a mixture of chlorate of potassium 
and h)-drochloric acid and mounted it in glycerine, I succeeded in making it 
sufficiently transparent to count the segments exactly, to observe the bundles 
of chaetae, and to control by examination of the whole animal some results of 
the study of microtomic series. 

The colour is due to dark pigmentation of the hypodermis (Fig. 7) ; it is 
so intense that limits of cells or their nuclei are not visible on sections if they 
are not extremely thin. This fact may depend on the shrinking of the plasm 
of the epithelium-cells, under the direct action of strong alcohol. In one 
specimen, unfortunately injured in the genital region, I could recognise the 
beginning of development of glandular cells in the hypoderm of the twelfth 
(clitellar) segment (Fig. 8). 

In the cephalic lobe, sagittal sections show a well-marked ccpltalic pore 
(Fig. spc); in the space between this pore and the mouth the hypoderm is 
much thickened ; its cells are much elongate, pigmented at their base and 
ape.x only. In this region there are in the hypoderm club-shaped bodies, 
strongly pigmented at their superficial part, nearly pigmentless at their deep 
or basal part, which shows a large nucleus (Fig. 9 cs). I believe that these 
bodies are sense cells, possibly organs of sight ; they seem to be connected 
with a thick nerve, which arises from the lateral commissure of the cesophageal 
ring, and distributes itself in that region (Fig. 2). A more accurate study 
of. these supposed sense bodies was not possible on preserved material. 

The cutaneous pigment was not confined to the hypoderm ; large cells 
filled with dark-brown pigment were found around the bundles of chaetae 
(Figs. 12, 13, 15) and in their neighbourhood. I was not able to recognise the 
precise nature of these cells ; each of them has a clear round spot showing 
the nucleus. Brown pigment lies also in the end of the nephridial ducts, 
near their external opening (Figs. 12, 13). 

The cliaetae are slightly sigmoid, more markedly bent at their apical 
end (Fig. 10). They are about a third longer in the posterior half of the 
body than in the anterior segments, as it appears by comparing Figs. 12 
and 13. Each bundle consists of four nearly equal chaetae. The ventral 
bundle is absent in the 12th (clitellar) segment, which receives the opening 
of the sperm-duct. 

The brain, as I have made out by graphical construction from a series 
of sections (Fig. 2), is of nearly quadrate shape, with the anterior margin 
slightly concave. From the base of each of the lateral commissurae arises 
the large nerve mentioned above, which distributes to the skin of the 
cephalic lobe. 



APPENDICES 

In the j/wu/k-opening the epithelium is for a short tract pigmented 
(Fig- 3)- Further backward the epithelial cells are pigmentless ; but in 
their interstices we find branched cells, filled with granular brown pigment. 
In the pharynx, the epithelial cells are very high and hardened at their 
superficial end, but without a distinct cuticle ; between them lie pigmented 
cells with long branches (Fig. 6). 

The pliarynx builds a dorsal appendage of the CESophagus, in the 2nd 
and in the beginning of the 3rd segment (Fig. 3 pli) ; its dorsal part gives 
insertion to a system of muscular bundles, which suspend this organ to the 
walls of the foremost four body-segments. Fig. 4 gives, in a somewhat 
schematic form, the graphic reconstruction of these muscles, made from 
a series of sagittal sections. The system consists of an anterior and posterior 
group. The former arises from the dorsal wall of the ist and anterior end 
of the 2nd segment ; the other is more complex and offers two knots, to 
which the bundles from the dorsal wall of the 3rd and 4th segments, and a 
bundle from the ventral wall of the 4th, converge. 

The part of the alimentary canal which follows on the pharynx, and 
may be called oesophagus, offers no notable widening, and is continuous 
without partition with the rest of the gut. The long cilia of the intestinal 
epithelium are clearly shown in my preparations (Fig. 5 ei). 

I have found in the gut some specimens of an Infusorium of the genus 
A?ioploplirya (Fig. 18); I could not see cilia on its surface, although the 
long cilia were well preserved on the intestinal epithelium in the same 
section. The intestine of the same specimens of the worm contained a 
number of ovate, brown bodies, closed in a thin membrane, and filled with 
clear spherules (Fig. 19 a) ; some of them were cut by the microtome knife 
(Fig. 191^), and showed in each spherule a grain (the nucleus?), coloured 
by carmine. I don't know whether these bodies have any relation to the 
Auoploplirya ; they might be incapsulated germs of the parasite. 

The intestine, and more markedly its posterior part, is filled with very 
fine crystalline mineral detritus, which seems to be the ordinary food of this 
worm. 

The cells of the cliloragogen (Fig. 5) are very long, and build a dense 
coating to the intestine. 

In the segments 4-8, the most part of the body-cavity is filled by 
unicellular glands (Fig. 1 1 gl) ; their very thin excretory prolongations form 
numerous threads directed towards the ventral side, which can be easily 
followed on the sections to the sides of the ganglion chain. Their thinness 
and flexuous course make it extremely difficult to follow them to their end 
on the surface of the skin. I believe that they converge towards the bundles 
of chaetae of the ventral series. As Mr. Michaelsen writes me, these glands 
may be regarded as morphological equivalents to those gland-cells which 
in other Enchytraeids are related to the chaetae of the genital segments. 
In Melanenchytraeus, I don't think that these glands have any relation to 

226 



APPENDICES 

the functions of reproduction, because I find them no less developed in 
immature specimens. 

In some anterior segments, and peculiarly in the gth and loth, there 
are, between the nephridium and the body- wall, clusters of cells (Fig. 12 xj 
whose plasma is filled with very minute and strong refracting granules, 
rendering them obscure in transmitted light, white in incident light. These 
cells are not clearly outlined, and in the middle of each a small round nucleus 
appears. As a whole, these clusters have the aspect of glands, but no 
excretory duct could be detected. The aspect of the white and strong 
refracting granules leads me to think that they are uric products, and that 
the function of these problematic organs is excretory. 

The dorsal vessel, or heart, appears on the sections from the 12th segment 
towards the head. Its posterior end is therefore neither praeclitellic nor 
postclitellic, but intraclitellic. This includes a cardiac body, or cardiac 
gland, of irregular shape, made of a small number of cells, in each transverse 
section. Having at my disposal only preserved specimens, I could not 
observe the colour of the blood ; I was unsuccessful in reconstructing from 
the sections the distribution and course of the blood-vessels. 

The lymph cells seem to be all of one sort ; I have drawn some in Fig. 14. 

The ncphridia (Fig. 15) are of irregular shape, with few large nuclei; 
the cells corresponding to these nuclei are not clearly outlined. Nearly 
the whole mass of the nephridium is built by the intricate and densely 
coiled tube. The wall of the excretory duct is thick and pigmented 
as it approaches the external opening. The latter lies on the line of 
the ventral bundles of chaetae, in front of the bundle of the segment in 
which it opens. 

The testicles and ovaries offer no noteworthy peculiarities ; in my speci- 
mens the latter were little developed, even in the most mature, in which the 
spermatogenesis was rather advanced. This fact indicates a condition of 
proterandry. 

In the more developed specimens enormous sperm-sacs extend from the 
loth to the 15th segment, and fill nearly the whole body-cavity. We find 
in them all the stages of spermatogenesis — large spermatogonia, spha^ric 
follicles derived from multiplication of them, and bundles of very minute 
zoosperms ; the latter are, however, in small numbers. But in most of the 
specimens I did not observe sperm-sacs nor spermathecae ; testicles and 
ovaries were very small and the sperm-ducts wanting, their distal part only 
being recognisable as a rudiment. 

My Fig. 16 gives the reconstruction of the left sperm-duct from a series 
of sagittal sections. The funnel {i 11) opens in the cavity of the nth 
segment. It gives rise to a somewhat twisting tube, which runs backwards 
as far as the 15th segment, where it is tightly coiled ; from there it returns 
forward to its external opening in the 12th segment. The last tract forms 
a spherical bulb («), but before reaching it the tube presents a fusiform 

227 



APPENDICES 

swelling (c), whose wall is very thick and made of long cells, directed 
radially on the transverse section, the lumen being not widened. Bundles 
of prostatic (spermiducal) glands (d) are related to the bulb ; another little 
group of glands (e) lies around the tube, above its fusiform thickening. As 
I mentioned above, the I2th segment, in which the sperm-duct opens, is 
deficient in ventral bundles of chaetae. 

I have given In Fig. 17 a reconstruction of the sperniatliccac, made from 
a series of transverse sections of the most developed specimen, which I 
e.xamined anatomically. Their e.xternal opening lies near the anterior limit 
of the 5th segment. A cylindrical duct made of cylindrical cells leads 
from the e.xternal opening to a wide cavity, which extends at its base into 
closed appendages or diverticula. These are only two larger on the right 
side, three smaller on the left. The two spermathecae communicate with 
one another, or, more exactly, they form a continuous whole, which traverses 
the dorsal portion of the intestine, without opening into the latter. 

This anatomical description and the accompanying plate show so many 
singular facts in the structure of the worm e.xamined, that I feel justified 
in forming for it a new genus, of which it is the only known species. From 
its obscure colour and light-shunning habits, I have called it Mclaiicncliytyacus 
solifugus. 

I translate here the diagnosis which I have already published in the 
Rcndiconti della R. Accadcmia dci Lincci} 



Melanenchytraeus, Emery. 

Hj'poderm pigmented. All the segments with dorsal and ventral 
bundles of 4 chaetae each. The latter are slightly sigmoid, longer in the 
foremost segments. No ventral bundle in the 12th segment, which bears the 
opening of the sperm-duct. The latter is very long, and forms a coiled loop, 
extending back to the 15th segment. Above the spherical bulb, which 
forms its distal end, it presents a fusiform swelling ; spermiducal glands are 
present. The sperm-sacs are ample, extending through several segments. 
The spermothecae do not open into the intestine ; they are continuous with 
one another, and bear at the base of their ampulhii two or three diverticles 
each. The nephridia are very much convoluted, with {&\m nuclei. The dorsal 
vessel begins in the 12th segment, and includes a cardiac gland. A cephalic 
pore is present, but no dorsal pores. The epithelium of the pharynx contains 
branched pigmented cells. There are no salivary glands, and no distinct limit 
separates the cesophagus from the intestine. In segments 4-8 the body 
cavity is largely taken up by unicellular glands, which, by means of long and 
very thin prolongations, reach the surface of the skin near the ventral bundles 
of chaetae. 

' Vol. VII., 1° sem., ser. 5. Sediita del 6 inarso, 189S, p. no. 

228 



APPENDICES 
M. solifugus, Emery. 

The largest specimens are a little over one centimetre in length ; the 
diameter of specimens preserved in spirits and moistened in water is about 
one-third of a millimetre. The body is cylindrical, tapering imperceptibly 
towards the hindmost extremity. The cephalic lobe is rounded. I counted 
53 segments in one specimen. Colour dark brown, nearly black. 

The sigmoid chaetae, the cardiac body, and the much convoluted nephridia 
assign to Melanenchyiracus a position near Meseiichytraeus. It differs from 
the latter chiefly by the long and complicated sperm-duct. The dark 
colouring of the hypoderm and other organs has not been observed in any 
other member of the Enchytraeida;. 



EXPL.\N.\TION OF THE PLATE. 
Letters common to all figures. 

ml longitudinal muscles. 

mt transversal muscles. 

ne nepliridium. 

7iv ventral ganglion chain. 

o mouth. 

ph pharynx. 

j>n nephridial pore. 

sc septum. 



cd dorsal chaetae. 

cv ventral chaetae. 

ce brain. 

cu cuticle. 

/; hypoderm. 

i intestine. 

/« funnel. 

Ic cephalic lobe. 



Roman numer.ils indicite the order of the segments. 

Fig. I. — Melancncliytraeiis solifugits ; magnified 9 : i. 

Fig. 2. — Brain and cesophageal ring ; reconstructed from a series of 

horizontal sections. In front of the brain the cephalic 

lobe shows a thickened hypoderm, with pigmented sense 

cells. 130 : I. 
Fig. 3. — Sagittal section of the foremost part of the body (combined 

from a series of not perfectly sagittal sections), pc cephalic 

pore, ^ blood-vessel. 130 : i. 
Fig. 4. — System of muscular bundles, which move the pharyn.x {iii, p/i) ; 

reconstruction ; the outer wall of the body is supposed 

to be transparent. Of internal organs, the central nerve 

system and the intestines only are drawn. 100 : i. 
Fig. 5. — Section of the intestinal wall in the fore part of the body, 

with the chloragogene cells, cfil ; ci ciliated intestinal 

epithelium, s blood lacunes. 380 : i. 
Fig. 6.— Section of the epithelium of the pharynx ; between th 

epithelial cells there are branched pigment cells. 380 : i. 
Fig. 7. — Transverse section of the body wall. 380 : i. 
Fig. 8. — Section of the body wall in the clitellar segment ; from a 

speciinen approaching maturity. 360 : i. 
229 



e 



APPENDICES 

Fig. 9. — Horizontal section of the cephalic lobe : cs sense cells. 
380 : I. 

Fig. 10. — The four chaetae of a bundle in a posterior segment, isolated by 
means of caustic potash. 380 : i. 

Fig. II. — Longitudinal vertical section of the 6th segment, showing the 
body cavity filled by unicellular glands^/. 250 : I. 

Fig. 12. — Longitudinal vertical section of the loth segment, showing 
the cluster of granulated cells, x, and the large dark 
pigmented cells, pg, which lie around the bundles of 
chaetae. 250 : i. 

Fig. 13. — Longitudinal section through the ventral bundle of chaetae 
in a posterior segment. 250 : i. 

Fig. 14. — Three lymph cells in the coelome. 380 : i. 

Fig. 15.— The right nephridium of the 15th segment, with the neigh- 
bouring bundles of chaetae. Combined figure from two 
sections. 250 : I. 

Fig. 16. — Reconstructed sperm-duct of the right side. / pore, a bulb 
(drawn as semi-transparent), in which the prostatic glands 
dl> open ; c fusiform swelling of the duct ; d loop sur- 
rounded by the glands e; in funnel. 130 : i. 

Fig. 17. — Reconstructed spermathecae as a transverse section (from 
a series of transverse sections), prs external pore, drs 
duct, rs cavity of the spermathecae, ars its appendages. 
130 : I. 

Fig. 18. — An&ploplirya sp? parasite in the intestine of Melane7ichytraeus. 
380 : I. 

Fig. 19. — Parasitic cysts from the \\~\i&%'i\x\z oi MelanencJiytraens; « entire 
cyst ; b longitudinally cut cyst, showing its contents of 
nucleate clear globules separated from each other by 
pigmented matter. 380 : i. 

Additional Note. — The Italian edition of the above pages was in the 
press when I received from Mr. Percy Moore a separate copy of his valuable 
paper on the Alaskan Enchytraeid.* Mr. Moore had at his disposal many 
more specimens than I had, and among them a number of sexually mature 
specimens, which allowed him to recognise the ovisacs and female pores. 
He found that the spermathecae do communicate with the intestine by a 
small pore. I have revised the only series of sections which J possess from a 
specimen with apparently fully developed spermathecae, and cannot find any 
pore ; but the organs lie in close contact with the intestinal wall, and it may 
be supposed that my specimen was abnormal or not fully mature. 

' A S>tow-inhabiti>i^ Etichytracid {Mesenchytraeus solifugus, Emery), collected by Mr. 
Henry G. Bryant on the Malaspina Glacier, Alaska, in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. P/nladelphia, 
1899, pp. 125-144, pi. VII. 

230 




nipli 



Jill nr 



II 




. it^na-y pinx 



MELANENCHYTl 



chl 



17. 

ars 



(Irs 



,di-s 



f:^ 






/irx 



S^iaaisi*^ '^"'c/ii'''^"'^'^^^!^ 




liiii /jat- vWtmtnWmuT.Fr'iiifun^!^ 



S SOLIFUGUS. 




MA Atst- rUhiurtWilaFii^ftn'M 



MELANENCHYTRAEUS SOLIFUGUS, 



APPENDICES 

Mr. Moore describes another smaller species whose spermathecae are 
without diverticula, and calls it M. nivns. This and M. solifitgus he refers to 
the genus Mesencliytraeus, regarding the characters of Melaneitchytraeics not 
sufficient to justify a separate genus. 

After the snow was melted on the glacier, Mr. Bryant observed the 
worms to become more active, living in little water pools on the glacier. I 
suppose that the most mature specimens came from such localities, and that 
the eggs are laid in the water. Mr. Moore examined also specimens collected 
by Mr. Wright on the Muir Glacier, and identified them with both M. solifitgus 
and niviis. 

Bologna July, 1899. 



231 



APPENDIX E 

Rocks and Minerals of South Alaska 

ALTHOUGH limited to a small number of specimens, the collection of 
rocks and minerals gathered on Mount St. Elias by the Italian expedi- 
tion is one of considerable interest as coming from a region that is so remote 
and difficult of exploration. 

Our knowledge of the geology of South Alaska is exclusively based on 
two reports by I. C. Russell, recounting his expeditions to St. Elias in 1890 
and 1 891. As frequent reference will have to be made to these reports, we 
shall designate them, for the sake of brevity, as Nos. I. and 11.^ 

It is necessary to study these reports in order to appreciate the nature 
and value of the collection ; while the latter, in its turn, serves to throw a 
little light on some of the many obscure and doubtful points in our geologi- 
cal knowledge of this distant and interesting land. 

According to Mr. Russell {vide I., p. 167), the different components of 
the soil of South Alaska are all stratified, and may be grouped in three 
formations or systems, denominated by him as follows, and disposed, in order 
of date, from the most recent to the oldest period : — 

I. The Yakutat System. 

II. The Pinnacle System. 

III. The St. Elias Schists. 

But of only one of these systems has the precise age been ascertained. 
As all the marine fossils found by Russell in the Pinnacle formation belonged 
to species still surviving on the Alaskan coasts, the soil containing them is 
evidently of recent origin, probably belonging to the Pleistocene, and certainly 
not anterior to the Pliocene formation. While exploring the Chaix Hills, 
during his second expedition (II., p. 24), Russell ascertained the strata of the 
Pinnacle System to be of glacial origin and identical with those deposited 
at the base of the present Malaspina Glacier, at every point where it comes 
down to the sea, as at Icy Cape or the Sitkagi Bluffs (II., p. 56). Therefore, 

' Israel Cook Russell. "An Expedition to Mount Elias, Alaska," The National 
Geographic Magazine, \'ol. III., pp. 53-200, plates 2-20 (I.) ; Washington, 1891. Id., 
" Second Expedition to Mount St. Elias," Thirteenth Annual Keport of the U. S. Geological 
Sur-oey, 1891-92 ; Part II., "Geoloyy," pp. 7-91, plates 3-21 (II.) ; Washington, 1893. 



APPENDICES 

as regards their origin and their fossils, these strata are identical with those 
of the present day, and only distinguished from the latter by their great 
elevation (5,000 feet) above the sea-level. This is one of the most interesting 
results of Russell's explorations, inasmuch as it positively proves the existence 
of an upheaval at above 5,000 feet, during a very recent geological period 
that can only be compared with that of the quaternary terraces at Aspro- 
monte in Calabria, although the latter do not reach to more than 3,750 feet 
at the highest. Besides, the enormous thickness of the »«^;'rt/«^-formation, 
which, according to Russell, cannot be estimated at less than 4,000 to 5,000 feet, 
proves that the upheaval must have been preceded by a prolonged glacial 
period, during which the climatic conditions of the country must have been 
analogous with those found there at the present day. But we have yet to ascer- 
tain whether in the interval between that not very remote geological period 
and the present time the glaciers passed through the same phases of advance 
and shrinkage which, having been verified in the rest of North America and 
in Europe, justify our division of the glacial epoch into various ages separated 
by interglacial periods, during which the glaciers were of smaller extent or 
disappeared altogether. This mighty glacial formation built up the Pinnacle 
Cliffs, Samovar Hills, Moore's Nunatak, and the Robinson Hills. 

Russell maintains that the Yakiitat System is much more recent than 
the Pinnacle System, the former being a very thick sandstone and schistous 
formation, in which considerable displacements and contortions are noted and 
entirely dissimilar from that of the Pinnacle System, wherein, as a rule, the 
strata are almost horizontal, or very slightly bent. If Mr. Russell's opinion 
as to the relative age of these Yakutat strata were to be accepted, it would 
imply that there must have been sufficient time during one of the above- 
mentioned interglacial periods occurring between the very recent period 
giving birth to the Pinnacle System and the present condition of the earth for 
the deposit of masses of sandy and schistous strata of a thickness that even 
Russell shrinks from estimating, and that is undoubtedly very great. 

This is not the only hazardous assertion Russell has advanced. The 
Hitchcock Range and the crags to the north of Pinnacle Pass are all com- 
posed of Yakutat strata, which are also found on Mount Owen, at Dome Pass, 
and from the great rock-spurs at the base of Mounts Augusta, Malaspina, and 
St. Elias. In these three latter localities the Yakutat strata dip beneath the 
schists forming the crest of the St. Elias range and constituting exactly the 
third of Russell's geological systems. But as he finds it impossible to admit 
that this superposition could have existed from the first — an hypothesis that 
would have compelled him to consider the St. Elias schists to be even more 
recent than the Yakutat strata — Mr. Russell was obliged to adopt the theory 
that through some fault parallel with the line of the strata, the schists had 
been upheaved and thrust up on top of the sandstones {Vide I., p. 168 and 
p. 174). 

Nevertheless, Mr. Russell was well aware of the improbability of all such 

233 



APPENDICES 

superpositions and settlings, and in his first pamphlet, written before discover- 
ing the glacial origin of the Pinnacle System, he confesses, with a frankness 
that does him honour, that " the relative ages of the Yakutat and Pinnacle 
series is the weakest point in the geological history he had sketched" (I., p. 
173). During his second expedition, he found no opportunity of resuming 
the subject, and thus the solution of the question is left to the future. 

Russell likewise gives a scheme of the geological structure of the region. 
This, however, is based on the supposed existence of a fault that has thrust 
the St. Elias schists over the Yakutat sandstones, a fault, moreover, running 
absolutely parallel with the stratification which bends towards north-east at 
an angle of 15°. The disorder and contortion visible in the Yakutat series 
would have been consequently caused by the overthrust of the said fault. So 
the whole of the actual appearance of the region surrounding St. Elias would 
be due to a system of enormous faults of later date than the first, which, in 
crossing one another, would have split the surface of the soil into independent 
fragments or blocks, and which, by the action of the various pressures (or 
thrusts), would have all dipped to the north. 

The south face of Mount St. Elias, formed of the heads of the strata, 
would be the fault-scarp of one of those blocks ; the easier slope of the moun- 
tain, on the northerly side, would consist of the surface of the strata. In fact, 
both Russell's photographs and those taken by the Italian expedition show 
a very distinct line of stratification dipping north or north-east. But now 
that the terminal pyramid is known to be composed of diorite, it is also possible 
that the so-called stratification are simply planes of division or cleavage in 
the solid rock. 

Russell attributes to all these dislocations the present altitude of the 
Pinnacle System strata above the level of the sea. In that case, the upheaval 
of the whole mountain system of South Alaska would be posterior to the 
Yakutat strata, consequently no older than the Pleistocene, and, at all events, 
of a very recent period. 

This, though one cannot deny it a priori, certainly constitutes a very 
novel and singular fact ; but the value of it is greatly lessened when we 
remember that all this hypothetical edifice is built up from a foundation the 
solidity of which is questioned by its author. 

Until fresh observations shall have absolutely proved it to be true that 
-the Yakutat sandstones are really of later origin than \.\\c Pinnacle System, 
Mr. Russell's theories regarding the origin of Mount St. Elias must be received 
with the utmost caution. 

A. The Terminal Pyramid of St. Elias. 

As regards the nature of the rock constituting the terminal pyramid of 
Mount St. Elias, Mr. Russell gives only one incidental hint (II., p. 49). when 
he mentions having met with an outcrop of dark diorite about 3,150 feet 

234 



APPENDICES 

above the Russell Col. In the geological notes to his first expedition, he 
gives even vaguer hints, since in these he merely says that the rocks forming 
the Mount St. Elias range are metamorphic schist, and that he purposely 
abstains from going into particulars from lack of conclusive observations 

(I- P- 173)- 

Accordingly, the two authentic specimens of the peak brought home by 
the Italian expedition form a precious contribution to our knowledge of its 
lithology. These fragments prove the truth of Russell's hasty examination : 
the St. Elias rock is really of the typical diorite, which in places merges into 
auiphibolite. 

I. Diorite of typical appearance with small and middle-sized grains : 
nevertheless, in this single, rather small specimen, the granulation is percept- 
ibly varied. Its structure is granulated hypidiomorphic, without any trace of 
porphyritic structure. No one of the essential elements has a decidedly crys- 
tallographic outer edge ; only the hornblende shows facets of the prism here 
and there. Its chief mineral components are hornblende and labradorite, with 
a mixture of a pyroxene showing scarcely any colour in thin section. 

Titanite (Sphene), in very minute crystals of rounded outline, is the most 
abundant of the accessory components ; there is very little pyritc and mag- 
netite ; calcite and epidote are included among the secondary minerals. 

The plagioclase looks white and still semi-transparent in the rock itself; 
in thin sections it remains sufficiently clear and almost unchanged, a fact 
which renders the comparative abundance of calcite somewhat puzzling. It 
shows the usual multiple twinning of albite and pericline. Its optical charac- 
ters correspond with those of a rather more basic labradorite than the Ab i. 
An \, perhaps therefore an Ab $, An6. 

The amphibole has the usual appearance of the deep green hornblende 
of typical diorites. 

Dr. Ettore Mattirolo has carefully analysed the St. Elias diorite at the 
Chemical Laboratory of the R. Ufficio Geologico, and has also ascertained its 
specific gravity. According to his report, the rock under the blowpipe melts 
somewhat easily into a black, rather porous and magnetic glass, the action 
of acids on it producing a slight effervescence. The stone, when reduced to 
powder, has a greenish grey tint ; when moistened with water, it shows per- 
haps a more marked alkaline reaction than is generally seen in similar rocks ; 
when heated in a closed tube and heated to no", it gives out a little com- 
bined water, the analysis of which, however, was not carried further. The 
quantitative analysis was performed on the substance dried at iio° C. The 
composition is detailed in the following table. It should be noted that the 
determination of the relative proportions of iron in the form of ferrous and 
ferric oxide was not carried out, but apparently the former (ferrous oxide) 
predominates over the other. 



235 



APPENDICES 

SiO, 4665 

TiOj 1-03 

CO., 057 

PI12O5 traces 

AI2O3 16-29 

FeO IO-54 

MrO traces 

CaO 1322 

MgO 813 

NajO 27S 

K2O . traces 

S (of pyrites) .... .... traces 

Loss by fusion (CO.j deducted) rjG 



10077 



Six determinations of the specific gravity of the rock, made on different 
specimens at an ordinary temperature, gave values var)-ing between 3'00 and 
3'o6, with a medium value of 3018. 

From the general result of RIattirolo's analysis, the Mount St. Ellas 
diorite seems to approach those types in which an increase of basicity is 
caused by the predominance of hornblende over feldspar. Where this pre- 
dominance becomes more marked, one arrives at the following type (No. 2). 

2. Amphibolite. 

This consists of the diorite hornblende slightly interspersed with an 
occasional granule of labradorite. This must be certainly a variety of the 
preceding rock in which hornblende predominates, in greater crystals with 
very clear and glittering cleavage facets. 

According to De Filippi's statement, the last spurs of rock encountered 
in the ascent of the Mount St. Elias peak at 16,500 feet are formed of this 
variety. 

B. Base of Buttress East of St. Elias, in the direction of Agassia Glacier. 
Vertical Strata. In the " Couloir " running ?// to the Ncioton. 

Close-grained psammitic, quartzite sandstone, of very regular structure. 
Of a greyish colour, which is chiefly due to very small specks of black mica. 
Slight variations of tint are evidences of very narrow and regular stratifica- 
tion. The facets of the specimen become covered with a reddish-brown 
limonitic crust after exposure to the air. 

C. North-cast Cupola of the Dome Pass. 

Sandstone of irregular, medium-sized grains, these grains being slightly- 
imbedded in a siliceous-argillaceous cement, the friability of the stone being 
probably due to the action of the air and fresh rock more solid. A thin sec- 
tion of the rock shows an aggregate of sharp-edged grains of quartz ; frag- 

236 



APPENDICES 

ments of feldspar more or less changed, a few of them still showing the 
streakings characteristic of labradorite ; and lastly, of sufficiently fresh spangles 
of biotite ; almost all, however, with flexures, cracks and foldings, showing that 
the whole mass had been subjected to pressure. 

D. North Bastion of the Hitchcock Range, Western Face. 

Fine-grained psammitic sandstone, of a yellowish-grey tint. On the 
lamination-planes, parallel with the stratification, there are very minute 
glittering particles of mica. 

The three sandstone specimens, B, C, and D, do not seem to be different 
rocks, but, on the contrary, varieties of the same type of psammitic sandstone 
with a silico-argillaceous cement and no trace of calcareous elements. Pro- 
bably all three specimens belong to the Yakutat formation, which is, in fact, 
composed of sandstone and black schist, showing violent flexures, disloca- 
tions, and disturbances. 

E. Base of the North Bastion of the Pinnacle Glacier {Pinnacle Cliffs). 

Russell Camp. 

All the specimens are of the Pinnacle formation which at Pinnacle Cliffs 
has a thickness of about 1,900 feet, and consists of alternating layers of sand- 
stone and various conglomerates, clays, and schists. Strange to say, its upper 
portions also comprise a bed of limestone with fragments of Pccten. The chief 
mass of the formation consists of a sandy clay with pebbles, in which the 
erosion caused by rain leads to the formation of pinnacles and spires, a char- 
acteristic fact which is also evidenced in the "earth pyramids " found in the 
morainic formations of many Alpine districts. This sandy and clayey forma- 
tion, with flattened, streaked and smooth pebbles, is really — as Mr. Russell 
acknowledged on his second expedition — a moraine once deposited in the sea 
and therefore still containing a few fossil shells. 

The material collected by the Italian expedition accordingly contains a 
certain number of erratic pebbles, and some fragments of scarcely recognisable 
fossils embedded in their rocky matrix. 

1. A quartzite pebble seamed with lines of fracture, with displaced frag- 
ments recemented along the lines. It is a splendid specimen of the stones to 
which Mr. Russell applies the name oi faulted pebbles (I., p. 171, and figures 
7 and 8). 

2. A quartzite pebble with cracks, but with no displaced fragments. Of 
slightly trigonal shape. 

3. A small pebble of whitish granite or arkose with black mica. 

4. Sandstone similar to D. 

5. Conglomerate of small pebbles with a calcareous cement. 

6. Soft sandstone with a calcareous cement, and fossil fragments of an 
unrecognised bivalve. 

237 



APPENDICES 

7. Blackish shale containing fossils. The said fossils are fragments of 
shells, and forms belonging certainly for the most part to the genus Cardium. 

As a supplement to the preceding notes, I subjoin Mr. Russell's list of 
the fossil species he found on his two expeditions. During the first the follow- 
ing species were collected on Pinnacle Cliffs (I., p. 172) : — 

RIya arenaria, L. 

Mytilus edulis, L. 

Leda fossa, Baird — L. iniuuta, Fabr. 

MacoDia inconspicua, B. & S. 

Cardium islaiidiciiin, L. 

Litorina atkana, Dall. 

Besides these, Russell notes (I I., pp. 170, 171) the presence of large Pccten 
shells {P. caurinus (?) Gld.) in the calcareous layer covering his Pinnacle series. 
The species found on the Chaix Hills are the following (p. 25) : — 

Cardiitin islandiciuii, L. 
Macoma sabulosa, Spengler. 
Natica, op. ? 

Nncula (2 undetermined species) 
Panopca arctica, Lam. 

Thracia curt a, Cour. 

Yoldia liinatula, Say. 

Yoldia (cfr. inyalis). 

Yoldia (cfr. obesa). 

Yoldia thraciacfoniiis, Shorer. 

Lastly, in a subglacial clay of a very recent period, near the front of the 
Malaspina Glacier, and at a little height above the sea, Mr. Russell found 
some other fossil shells, which, according to Ball's identification (II., 63), would 
include the following species : — 

Cardiinn groidaudicuni, Gronl. 
Cardium islandicitiii, L. 
Kennerlia graudis, Dall. 
Leda fossa, Baird. 
Macoma sabidosa, Spengler. 

F. Base of the Frontal Moraine of the Malaspina Glacier, North of 
Manly Point ; 42 miles to S.S.E. of Mount St. Elias. 

Manby Point is situated in about the exact centre of the frontal arch of 
the Malaspina Moraine, but in such a position as to lead one to infer that the 
majority of substances found there had been brought down by the Seward 
Glacier. Nevertheless, it is impossible to decide as to the real source of the 
substances, inasmuch as the Seward, where it debouches into the Malaspina, 

238 



APPENDICES 

is flanked by the Samovar Hill, and by the cliffs of the Pinnacle Pass, which 
being formed of a moraine-deposit of relatively great antiquity and unknown 
origin, may be the source of much of the erratic material predominating on 
Manby Point. 

Having made this reserve, we may enumerate the different species of 
rocks and minerals collected there : — 

1. Diorite. 

2. Amphibolite. 

These two rocks are almost identical with those of the terminal pyramid 
of St Elias. But as the St. Elias pyramid stands outside the basin which is 
a tributary of the Seward, the evidence of those rocks is in favour of the 
existence of dioritic rocks in the mountains to the east of Mount St. Elias, 
unless it can be shown that they are derived from the conglomerates of the 
Samovar Hills. 

3. Felspathic rock with a chloritized mineral, possibly a partially changed 
diorite or gabbro. Mr. Russell maintains (I., p. 168) that the central (or 
medium) moraines of the Haydn and Marvine Glaciers — both tributaries of 
the Malaspina — are formed of gabbro and serpentine, a fact that would 
apparently indicate the presence of identical rocks on the southern slope of 
Mount Cook. 

4. Amphibolic granite. Rocks with altered feldspar, chloritized black 
mica, and brownish-green hornblende, with a certain amount of quartz. 

5. Actinolite schist. 

6. Dioritic gneissiform schist. 

7. Actinolite in long prisms contained in a mass of citrine quartz. 

8. Aplite. 

9. Light green actinolitic schist. 

10. Black jasper in pebbles. 

11. Slaty-black schist. 

12. Pegmatite. 

13. Vein-quartz. 

14. Micaceous black rock with the formation and appearance of a 
grauwacke metamorphozed by contact, with a prism of andalusite of several 
centimetres in length, with rhomboidal sections from less than one centi- 
metre in length to about one centimetre. Although this mineral seems to 
be interpenetrated by the schistous cement of the rock, it affords some very 
fresh, clear fragments, which are slightly coloured and pleochroic, very light 
green and pink. 

Ingre Vittorio Novarese. 

Rome. Royal Geological Office, March, 1899. 



239 



APPENDIX F 

Works on Alaska in General 

This list gives merely the titles of the books and articles consulted in order to amplify 
the description of the country traversed by the expedition, and to compile an historical 
account of earlier explorations. Although incomplete, the summary may serve as a guide 
to those who are desirous of obtaining fuller information regarding Alaska and the region 
of Mount St. Elias. 

W. H. Dall. Alaska and its Resources, 1870. 

— Report on Mt. St. Elias, Mt. Fairiveather, and some of the Adjacent 
Monntains. — Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey 
for 1875. 
C. E. S. Wood. Among the Thlinkits in Alaska. — The Century Magazine, 

July, 1882. 
I. Petroff. Population, Industries and Resources of Alaska. 1884. 
I. C. Russell. Glaciers of Alaska. — Fifth Annual Report of the U.S. 

Geological Survey for 18S3-84. Washington, 1895. 
H.W.Elliot. Our Arctic Province. New York, 1887. 
G. F. Wright. The Ice Age in North America. London, 1890. 
I. C. Russell. A Journey up the Yukon River. — Bulletin of the American 

Geographical Society, Vol. XXVII., 1890, n. 2. 
— Notes on the Surface Geology of Alaska. — Bulletin of the American 

Geological Society, Vol. I., 1890. 
A. B.\DL.\M. The Wonders of Alaska. S. Francisco, 1891. 
H. P. CUSHING. Notes on the Muir Glacial Region, Alaska and its Geology. — 

American Geologist, Vol. VIII., 1891. 
H. F. ReiD. Studies on the Muir Glacier. — National Geographic Magazine, 

Vol. IV, 1891. 
F. SCHWATKA. Wonderland, or Alaska and the Inland Passage. — Alpine 

Journal, Vol. XII., 1891. 
H. W. Seton-Karr. Explorations in Alaska and North- West British 

Columbia. — Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. XIII., 

1891, n. 2. 
I. C. Russell. Climatic Changes Indicated by the Glaciers of North America. 

— The American Geologist, Vol. IX., 1892. 
C. W. Hayes. An E.xpedition to the Yukon District. — National Geographic 

Magazine, Vol. IV., 1892. 

240 



APPENDICES 

I. C. Russell. Alaska : Its Physical Gecgrafh). — The Scottish Geographi- 
cal Magazine, Vol. X., 1894. 

— Glaciers of North Aiuerica. — Boston, 1897. 

Alaska. — Bureau of the American Republics. Handbook n. 84, August, 
1897. 

Works having Special Reference to the Mount St. Elias 

Region. 

F. Schwatka. I. Letter to the Neiv York Times, October 17, 1886. 

— 2. The Expedition of the " Neiv York Times" (1886). — Century Magazine, 

April, 1 89 1. 
W. Libbey. Some of the Geographical Features of South-Eastern Alaska.^ 

Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. XXIII., 1886. 
H. W. Seton-KarR. I. Shores and Alps of Alaska. London, 1887. 

— 2. The Alpine Regions of Alaska. — Proceedings of the Royal Geographi- 

cal Society, Vol. IX., 1887. 

H. W. Topham. a Visit to the Glaciers of Alaska and Mt. St. Elias. — 
Alpine Journal, Vol. X., 1889; and Proceedings of the Royal Geo- 
graphical Society, Vol. XII., 1889. 

W. Williams. Climbing Mcvnt St. Elias. — Scribrer's Magazine, April, 
1889 ; and in Mountain Climbing. — " The Out-of-Door Library," 
Scribner, New York, 1897. 

I. C. Russell, i. An Expedition to Mount St. Elias, Alaska. — The National 
Geographic Magazine, Vol. III., 1891. 

I. C. Russell. 2. The Expedition of the National Geographical Society and 
, the U.S. Geological Sinvey (i890).^The Century Magazine, April, 1891. 

M. B. Kerr. Mount St. Elias and its Glaciers. — Scribner's Magazine, 
March, 1891 ; and in Mountain Climbing.^"The Out-of-Door Library," 
Scribner, New York, 1897. 

J. Stanley-Brown. Report on Auriferous Sands from Yakutat Bay. — 
National Geographic Magazine, Vol. III., 1891. 

F. H. Knowlton. Report on Fossil Plants from Pinnacle Pass, near Mt. 
St. Elias, Alaska. — National Geographic Magazine, Vol. III., 1891. 

I. C. Russell. i. Second Expedition to Mount St. Elias. — Thirteenth 
Annual Report of the U.S. Geological Survey for 1891-92. Washing- 
ton, 1894. 

— 2. Mount St. Elias Re^'isitcd. — The Century Magazine, June, 1892. 

— 3. Malaspina Glacier. — The Journal of Geology, Vol. I., 1893, n. 3. 

— 4. Mountaineering in Alaska. — Bulletin of the American Geographical 

Society, Vol. XXVIII., 1896, n. 3. 



Butler .S. Tanner, The Selwood Frintiag Works, Frome, and London, 




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